Last Updated: October 04, 2023, 23:08 IST
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is attributed as one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR (Photo: PTI file)
Of the 95 stubble burning cases, Amritsar district contributed the most with 48, followed by 19 in Tarn Taran, eight in Patiala and seven in Kapurthala.
More than 650 incidents of stubble burning have been reported in Punjab so far, according to data from the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. According to the data, Punjab recorded 656 active fire incidents from September 15 to October 4.
On Wednesday, the state witnessed 95 stubble burning incidents, the data showed. On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had recorded 23 and 65 farm fires, respectively. Of the 95 stubble burning cases, Amritsar district contributed the most with 48, followed by 19 in Tarn Taran, eight in Patiala and seven in Kapurthala.
Amritsar and Tarn Taran are accounting for the maximum straw burning incidents as harvesting has already begun in these districts. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged the farmers to shun the practice of stubble burning.
The farmers are being given crop residue machinery for in-situ and ex-situ management of stubble, he had said. With about 31 lakh hectares of paddy area, Punjab produces around 180-200 lakh tons of paddy straw every year. Of this, 120 lakh tons are managed through in-situ (mixing crop residue in the fields) and ex-situ (using stubble as fuel) management methods.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is attributed as one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR in October and November. As the window for rabi wheat sowing after paddy harvest is very short, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the residue.
The state recorded 49,922 farm fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018 with many districts, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar, witnessing large-scale stubble burning incidents. Last year, Punjab witnessed a 30 per cent drop in stubble burning incidents compared to 2021.
The state agriculture department has already announced that it will provide 24,000 crop residue management machines to check stubble burning incidents. The department will provide Super SMS, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper, mulcher, smart seeder, zero till drill, surface seeder, super seeder, crop reaper and shrub master for in-situ and baler and straw rake for ex-situ management of the paddy residue.
Under its Rs 350-crore paddy straw management plan, the agriculture department is targeting zero-stubble burning incidents in Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Malerkotla districts.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
