Farmers Movement Archive

Air pollution: More than 65,000 farm fires recorded in Punjab this season

More than 65,000 farm fire incidents have been recorded across Punjab this season despite penalties imposed by the authorities and efforts made for management of crop residue, officials said on Monday.Farmers kept flouting the ban on paddy stubble burning across the state, and around 2,500 farm fire incidents were witnessed on Sunday, with Sangrur district accounting for the most of them, they said.To curb the practice, the state government has so far imposed an environmental compensation of ₹2.46 crore on erring growers, said an official of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.Punjab saw 65,404 stubble burning incidents till Sunday, as against 73,893 registered till November 14 last year, the official added.Though the number of farm fires this year so far is less than last year, it has crossed the 2019 figures.Punjab had seen 76,590 incidents of field fires in 2020 as compared to 52,991 in 2019, as per the data.The farm fires continued unabated despite the state government deputing nodal officers across Punjab to check these and giving more machines for management of crop residue.Farmers’ burn paddy stubble in order to clear their fields to sow the next crop, but the fumes of these fires causes air pollution.According to farmers, it is not feasible for them, especially small and marginal growers, to purchase farm machinery for the management of crop residue.“We want the government to give us ₹200 per quintal as bonus for management of paddy straw,” said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan.Farmers of Punjab and Haryana are often blamed for causing air pollution by burning paddy straw.Punjab alone generates an estimated 20 million tonnes of paddy stubble annually.

Hindustan Times

16-11-2021

Chandigarh