Air quality ‘very poor’ in three Haryana cities, ‘poor’ in 11

Karnal, Manesar and Gurugram in Haryana have ‘very poor’ air quality, says pollution control board report

Air quality of at least three Haryana cities has entered the ‘very poor’ category and that of 11 others was ‘poor’ amid the crop-residue burning incidents in the region. An air quality bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board revealed the jump in the incidents of burning of the crop residue, polluting the air in the region.

The air quality in Haryana cities is deteriorating fast even as subble fire incidents are on the lower side this season so far as compared to the previous year.

The report says the air in three cities is of ‘very poor’ category. Manesar has the worst air quality in the state with 327 points on the Air Quality Index (AQI), followed by Karnal’s 326 and Gurugram’s 308. The air quality of 11 other cities of Haryana has been classified as ‘poor’ (see graphic).

Of the 20 cities of the state chosen for the air quality bulletin, not even a single city has ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ air quality.

According to the officials of the state pollution control board, the quality of air has deteriorated with the sudden rise in the incidents of stubble burning. On Friday, the state saw maximum 363 active fire locations (AFLs) as detected by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC).

The total number of stubble-burning cases in the state this season (between September 15 and October 15) has reached 850. Though the AFLs are far below the last year’s 1,835 for the said period, officials of the state agriculture department are concerned about the imp[ending spurt in farm fire cases as the harvesting of the parmal varieties is at peak.

The chief secretary has already issued directions to the deputy commissioners to check stubble burning in their respective areas. Block-level flying squad teams comprising BDPOs, tehsildars, agriculture department officials and police personnel have also been formed by the district administration for the timely action against the erring farmers. Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Mukul Kumar said these teams will access the live reports of the stubble burning and take immediate action against the farmers.

Member secretary to Haryana State Pollution Control Board S Narayanan said fresh directions have been issued and concerted efforts are being made to ensure a check on straw fires.