Chandigarh: Punjab reported 1,068 farm fires on Sunday, the highest in a single day in the current harvesting season as paddy growers continue to burn crop residue. Out of 1,068 stubble burning incidents witnessed on Sunday (October 29), among the districts Sangrur reported a maximum 181, followed by 155 in Ferozepur, 133 in Tarn Taran, 83 in Patiala and 66 in Mansa, according to the data of the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 1,353 and 1,898 farm fires, respectively.
Also Read: 714 Stubble Burning Incidents In Haryana During Current Harvesting Season
From September 15 till October 29, the state witnessed a total of 5,254 farm fire incidents as against 12,112 such cases in corresponding period last year, showing 57 per cent decline in number of farm fire incidents.
The state had reported 8,856 farm fires during the same period in 2021.
Out of the total 5,254 farm fires reported so far, Amritsar constituted the bulk of crop residue burning cases at 1,060, followed by 646 in Tarn Taran, 590 in Patiala, 540 in Sangrur and 505 in Ferozepur, as per the data.
Paddy harvesting is underway in Punjab. With about 31 lakh hectares of paddy area, Punjab produces around 180-200 lakh tonne of paddy straw every year and of which 120 lakh tonne was being managed through in-situ (mixing crop residue in fields) and around 30 lakh tonne ex-situ (using stubble as fuel) management methods.
Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: People Suffer As Kanpur Chokes On Smog
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.
As the window for Rabi crop — wheat — is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue for sowing of the next crop.
The state recorded 49,922 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 number of stubble burning incidents.
Also Read: Delhi’s Air Turns ‘Very Poor’ As Air Quality Crosses A 300-Mark; Government Issues Directions
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
