Nearly 85% of stubble burning cases in Punjab have been recorded in nine districts alone.
The state has recorded 1,946 farm fires so far, with Amritsar topping the chart with 729 incidents followed by Tarn Taran (253), Patiala (215), Sangrur (123), Ferozepur (118), Kapurthala (97), Fatehgarh Sahib (61) and Mansa (65).
On the basis of data pertaining to last year’s incident, the Punjab pollution control board (PPCB) had handed over a list of red and hotspot areas to deputy commissioners across the state before the onset of paddy harvesting season so that special preventive measures could be taken to ensure in-situ management of paddy straw in these areas.
One of the officials of the PPCB said the deputy commissioners were asked to concentrate on the villages where more than eight fire incidents occurred.
On Sunday, only 30 cases of stubble burning were reported.
PPCB chairman Adarshpal Vig said looking at the trends of fire incidents in the past years, the stubble burning incidents in Punjab have decreased considerably till date. “We are closely monitoring the situation to minimise cases this year,” he said.
“The district heads have somehow managed to control the fire incidents in their respective district, but the number is concerning in hotspot blocks. We have been repeatedly coordinating with the officials concerned to tackle the fire incidents in coming days,” said an official seeking anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}“The district heads have somehow managed to control the fire incidents in their respective district, but the number is concerning in hotspot blocks. We have been repeatedly coordinating with the officials concerned to tackle the fire incidents in coming days,” said an official seeking anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}Last year, the state recorded 49,922 fire incidents between September 15 and November 30, which was 29.84% lesser than fire incidents reported in 2021 during the same period of the year. In 2021, 71,159 stubble fire incidents were reported, while it was 76,929 in 2020.