Hyderabad: A routine attempt to clear paddy stubble ended in tragedy in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district after an elderly farmer was burnt alive when the fire spread across farmland on Saturday.The incident took place at Repakapalli village in Regonda mandal when Sagarla Chandramouli (62) and his wife Bhagyamma (58) went to their fields along with their son Bhaskar to burn leftover paddy stubble. According to police, the flames soon spread to a neighbouring field.Due to the intense heat, Bhagyamma took ill and the duo made her sit under a tree. While Bhaskar left to fetch drinking water from home, Chandramouli went towards the spreading flames in an attempt to contain it, police said.But before help could arrive, Chandramouli was trapped in the blaze and burnt alive, police said. Witnessing the horrifying scene, Bhagyamma collapsed near the field. Locals took her to a hospital in Hanamkonda but she could not be saved, adding to the family’s grief. Chandramouli was rushed to the govt hospital in Mahadevpur, where doctors declared him dead, SI Sudhakar said.Police registered a case based on a complaint lodged by family members. Preliminary findings indicate that the fire spread rapidly due to dry conditions.It may be recalled that, a 56-year-old farmer, Manda Ganganna, was charred to death in Nirmal district on May 13 when he attempted to control a fire that spread from burning maize stubble to his standing paddy crop.In a similar incident, a 60-year-old farmer, V Rama Rao, died after becoming trapped in a sudden blaze while burning corn residue in his field on May 15 in Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh. The fire spread rapidly due to high winds and dry summer conditions.
