The Punjab government has decided to ban stunt on tractors, announced Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday, just days after a 29-year-old man was crushed to death while performing a high-risk stunt during a rural sports fair in Gurdaspur.
"Dear Punjabis, 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," announced Bhagwant Mann in a social media post.
On Saturday, Sukhmandeep Singh, from village Thathe, lost his balance as he attempted to climb on to the tyres of the tractor when it suddenly revved up and began to move. He was then crushed under the tyres of the tractor and died later while being taken to a hospital.
"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 told news agency PTI.
"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," the Deputy Commissioner further told the news agency.
A report regarding the incident has to be submitted within a week.
Apart from being an important farming vehicle, tractor is also perceived as a symbol of social status in India's hinterlands.
For hundreds of young men, particularly in states that primarily depend on agriculture, tractor is fast becoming the favourite vehicle to perform stunts of their choice.
An annual tractor tournament, where two tractor drivers face off, known as Tractor Tochan Mukabla, has emerged as a highly competitive event in the northern Indian farming states of Punjab and Haryana.