E-Paper
105 farm fires detected in Ludhiana, AQI remains under ‘poor’ category
Ludhiana deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik maintains that there has been a decline in the number of farm fire incidents as compared to the previous years
Ludhiana has been witnessing a spurt in the paddy residue burning incidents with the district recording as many as 105 farm fires on Saturday, which took the season’s total to 558.
Jagraon tops the list of fire incidents as it has logged 87 events of paddy residue burning, followed by Samrala which saw 60 cases, while 44 incidents have been detected in Raikot.
Total 5,817 stubble burning incidents were reported in the district last year, while the count had remained 4,330 in 2020.
Ludhiana deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik maintains that there has been a decline in the number of farm fire incidents as compared to the previous years.
The city’s air quality index (AQI) continued to remain under ‘poor’ category even five days after Diwali.
According to the national air quality index, the share of particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres (PM 2.5) was at 172 on Saturday, 209 on Friday, 252 on Thursday, while the number was 291 on Wednesday and 302 on Tuesday.
Anti-smog guns of little use
As the city has seen a spike in pollution level following Diwali, the anti-smog guns purchased to tackle the rising level of pollutants are lying unused.
The Ludhiana municipal corporation had conducted the trial run of these guns on October 22, but since then, the machines were taken out only on two occasions.
Attached with the tractors, generator and a water tanker, the guns were being driven through markets and city’s main roads as part of the trials. On October 15, the civic body had conducted an unsuccessful trial of the anti-smog guns as well.
Authorities had claimed that the anti-smog guns would be stationed at certain points after Diwali to help control the dust particles suspended in the area, but no such move was visible after Monday.
Municipal corporation additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal had said that the civic body was working on a proposal to install tankers and anti-smog guns on tipper trucks to make them space-efficient. The generator set can also be attached with the trucks using a hook, he added.
The civic body has bought five big and two small anti-smog guns at a cost of ₹1.15 crore under the National Clean Air Programme.
Officials said the big guns can spray water up to 100 metre to settle the dust particles and PM 2.5, while the small guns can spray up to 30 metre. Currently, these are stationed at civic body’s warehouse on Hambran Road.
