The Punjab government is set to impose a ban on performing stunts on tractors. This comes two days after a 29-year-old man was killed on 28th October while trying to perform a stunt in Sarchur village in the Fatehpur Churiyan constituency.
“Dear Punjabi tractor is called the king of fields..don’t make it the angel of death..any kind of stunt or dangerous performance with tractor and related implements is being banned in Punjab..rest details soon..,” Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann announced on social media platform X.
A video that went viral on social media showed a man named Sukhmandeep Singh attempting to climb the wheel of a tractor that was running on the two rear wheels. While attempting to place his legs on the moving wheels, one of Singh’s legs got trapped in the mud during which he was overrun by the tractor.
The incident occurred during a local mela in Gurdaspur. The crowd ran to Singh’s rescue and he was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The event organisers’ reportedly did not have permission to conduct the event.
The deceased stuntman had performed several stunts during the Farmer protests too. “A private fair was organised. A tractor stuntman injured himself while trying to control a tractor. He lost his life on his way to the hospital. The organisers of such fairs only take permission for loudspeakers during the festive season,” Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal said.
He added, “I have directed all the Sub Divisional Magistrates of the districts to give permission to such fairs only after a thorough check. I have asked them to take an undertaking that the stuntmen are professionals and have taken proper measures.”
In August this year, a farmer lost his life and several policemen were injured during protests by farmers in the Longowal area of Sangrur after being overrun by a tractor.
In 2021, during the Farmer protests, two protesting women died on the spot and three others were seriously injured after a tractor participating in the tractor rally ran over a group of women in Amritsar.
The craze for tractor stunts runs wild in Punjab and is considered a symbol of wealth. Safe to say, it is now also symbolic of death on wheels.