E-Paper
At 219, Punjab sees highest single-day farm fire count
The state had recorded 1,898 and 1,068 farm fires on October 29 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. From September 15 to October 29 this year, Punjab has seen 2,356 farm fire cases as compared to 5,254 such incidents in the corresponding period last year, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.
Patiala
Punjab on Tuesday recorded 219 fresh farm fire incidents, highest single-day spike this season, taking the count to 2,356, which is about 50% less than last year, official data showed.
The state had recorded 1,898 and 1,068 farm fires on October 29 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. From September 15 to October 29 this year, Punjab has seen 2,356 farm fire cases as compared to 5,254 such incidents in the corresponding period last year, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. The state had recorded 12,112 farm fires during the same period in 2022.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind alarming spike in air pollution in the national capital in October and November. As the window for rabi crop wheat is very short after paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue for sowing of the next crop.
Ferozepur topped the chart with 45 cases, followed by 38 in Sangrur and 22 in Patiala, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) data.
Of the 2,356 cases so far, the highest (496) have been reported from Amritsar, followed by Tarn Taran (389) and Patiala (288), the PPCB data showed.
PPCB officials expressed concerns over the possible rise in stubble burning cases in the Malwa region – which has the highest contribution to the state’s overall farm fire incidents.
According to officials, farmers in districts of the Malwa region were harvesting paddy at a large scale over the past few days, and number of farm fire incidents are likely to shoot up in the coming days.
“Sangrur, Patiala and Ferozepur are the hotspot areas for stubble burning. Over the past two days, these districts have recorded an uptick in farm fire incidents, which is a cause of concern,” said a PPCB official.
PPCB chairman Adarsh Pal Vig said that districts of Malwa regions have already started reporting higher number of farm fires.
“Despite an uptick in farm fire incidents in the Malwa region, the number of farm fire incidents are still 50% less than the last year’s count during the corresponding period,” said Vig.
