E-Paper
FIR registered against Fazilka farmer for burning stubble, a first this season
In the first case in the state, the police on Wednesday booked a farmer of Rana village in Fazilka district for burning paddy stubble and violating the orders of the district administration
BATHINDA : In the first case in the state, the police on Wednesday booked a farmer of Rana village in Fazilka district for burning paddy stubble and violating the orders of the district administration.
Deputy commissioner Senu Duggal said an environmental compensation of ₹2,500 has also been imposed on Avtar Singh. She said the violator was identified on the basis of satellite imagery after which a field inspection was conducted.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of agriculture development officer Kuldeep Kumar under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.
Fazilka chief agriculture officer Gurmeet Singh Cheema urged paddy growers not to burn the organic residue as it adversely affects soil fertility and causes air pollution.
Meanwhile, Punjab on Wednesday reported 95 stubble burning cases taking the count to 656, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) data.
The farm fires reported this kharif season till October 4 remained the highest during the corresponding period since 2021, according to the date.
Official data says in 2021, various districts of Punjab reported a total of 261 fires till October 4 whereas, last year the number of active fires from the paddy fields was 415 during this period.
The farm fires were concentrated in the Majha region where Amritsar reported the highest 48 cases, followed by 19 in Tarn Taran. Both the districts have witnessed 429 and 88 farm fires so far this season, respectively, the data shows.
In the Doaba region of the state, Kapurthala has recorded 39 stubble burning cases and in the Malwa belt, Patiala tops the table with 29 incidents followed by 17 in Mohali.
Spurt in arrivals
Mandis across the state saw arrival of 84,000 tonnes paddy on Wednesday, the highest so far.
A total of 1.99 lakh tonnes of paddy has already arrived in the mandis, say officials.
The Punjab Mandi Board data says of the total paddy brought to the mandis, 1.44 lakh tonnes has been purchased so far.
The government agencies have procured 1.3 lakh tonnes and the private players bought the remaining 14,000 tonnes, according to the data.
