E-Paper
Ahead of Diwali, air quality of most Haryana cities deteriorates again
Air quality of Haryana’s Ballabgarh reached “very poor” category and that of 15 other cities was “poor” owing to the continuous rise in stubble burning cases in the state
Air quality of Haryana’s Ballabgarh reached “very poor” category and that of 15 other cities was “poor” owing to the continuous rise in stubble burning cases in the state.
The air quality had improved earlier this week due to rainfall in most parts of the state but it got polluted again with the air quality bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealing a jump in the incidents of stubble burning, polluting the air in the region as Haryana had reported 155 incidents of farm fires on Wednesday taking the number of total incidents of stubble burning to 1,237 from September 15 to October 20.
Officials of the state pollution control board expressed concerns as they said the poor air quality ahead of Diwali will be a cause of worry.
As per the Haryana Space Applications Centre (Harsac), with a maximum of 397 AFL incidents, Karnal is at the top, followed by Kaithal (342), Kurukshetra (216), Fatehabad (71), Ambala (55), Jind (51), and Yamunanagar (46).
The air quality bulletin of the CPCB has revealed that Ballabgarh has the worst air quality in state with the air quality index (AQI) of 309.
The air quality of 15 cities – Ambala (204), Bahadurgarh (215), Charkhi Dadri (285), Dharuhera (209), Faridabad (203), Gurugram (215), Jind (204), Kaithhal (215), Karnal (207), Kurukshetra (286), Manesar (238), Panipat (244), Rohtak (217), Sonepat (251), and Yamunanagar (243) – was categorised “poor”.
The AQI was “moderate” in Bhiwani (125), Fatehabad (149), Hisar (142), Panchkula (154) and Sirsa (151).
Of the 20 cities in state chosen for the air quality bulletin, not even a single city had “good” air quality. Only Palwal had “satisfactory” air quality with 61 AQI.
Farm fires reach 1,237 in state
According to officials of the state pollution control board, the air quality has deteriorated with a sudden rise in incidents of stubble burning.
The Haryana chief secretary had earlier issued directions to the deputy commissioners of all districts to check stubble burning in their respective areas. Block-level flying squads comprising BDPOs, tehsildars, agriculture department officials and police personnel were also formed by the district administrations for timely action against erring farmers, but keeping a complete check on farm fires still remains a challenge.
Haryana State Pollution Control Board member secretary S Narayanan said, “There are reports that the air quality has deteriorated again after rains. We will hold another meeting in this regard and fresh directions will be issued to DCs, especially in the NCR region, to check illegal activities ahead of Diwali.”
Karnal deputy director (agriculture) Aditya Dabas said efforts are being made to check stubble burning. And ₹4.30 lakh fine has been imposed on 171 erring farmers of Karnal. In Kurukshetra, deputy commissioner Mukul Kumar said 155 farmers have been challaned for stubble burning incidents in district and a fine of ₹2.02 lakh has been imposed on them.
