At 587, Punjab clocks highest farm fires in a day
Over 1K cases in 48 hours, Sangrur biggest contributor to Friday’s tally; with 79 cases, Sangrur was the biggest contributor to Friday’s tally, followed by Ferozepur with 70 cases and Tarn Taran with 59 cases, as per the Punjab Pollution Control Board
Punjab added a whopping 1,071 farm fire cases to its tally in just two days, with 587 cases being reported on Friday, the highest single-day count this season.
With this, the season’s tally has touched 3,537. This, officials say, is significantly lower than last year’s tally on November 1 which was 9,594 cases.
With 79 cases, Sangrur was the biggest contributor to Friday’s tally, followed by Ferozepur with 70 cases and Tarn Taran with 59 cases, as per the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
“This jump in farm-fire incidents is due to the sudden spike in Malwa region. Our nodal officers are on their job to curb the incidents,” a PPCB official said.
Mansa, a district in Malwa region, reported 47 farm fire cases on Friday. In the last 48 hours, the Malwa districts Sangrur, Mansa, Patiala, Ferozepur together logged 473 cases.
A senior agriculture department official, pleading anonymity, said, “The window to sow the next crop is shrinking as farmers have to sow wheat by November 15 to get good yield. Thus, they are resorting to stubble burning to clear paddy fields for the next crop.”
Sangrur deputy commissioner Sandeep Rishi said that strict action is being taken against officials who failed to stop farm fires incidents within their jurisdiction.
He added that eight officials had already been suspended in Sangrur district, while cases — under section 14 of Commission for Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) act — have been registered against three employees.
Pakistan bordering district, Amritsar, has recorded the highest cases of stubble burning this year with 569 cases. It is followed by another border district, Tarn Taran, with season’s tally of 503. Sangrur is at the third spot in the state with 427 farm fire incidents so far.
1,608 FIRs registered
this season: Punjab Police
Chandigarh: Punjab Police on Friday claimed that its campaign to educate farmers about the harmful effects of stubble burning and taking legal action against those setting fields on fire yielded results as the state saw a dip in cases compared to previous years.
According to figures availability with the police headquarters, Punjab has witnessed 61% decline in farm fires till October 31, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period last year.
Special director general of police (Spl DGP, law and order) Arpit Shukla, who is also a police nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burning, said so far, 1,608 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against violators while penalties worth ₹21.32 lakh have been imposed in 797 cases.
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