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Ludhiana clocks 82% drop in farm fires
The district had on Wednesday reported 96 farm fire cases. The dip on Thursday is a notable decrease in the stubble burning incidents over the past 12 days
The Ludhiana district on Thursday clocked 17 cases of farm fires, an 82% drop in the number of incidents reported a day before, while eight FIRs were lodged in cases related to stubble burning in the area.
The district had on Wednesday reported 96 farm fire cases. The dip on Thursday is a notable decrease in the stubble burning incidents over the past 12 days.
According to police, seven FIRs were registered without names in Ludhiana Rural, and one in Ludhiana in cases related to stubble burning.
This decrease in farm fires comes after the Supreme Court asked states, including Punjab and Haryana, to take immediate action to address the issue.
In response to this directive, the district administration held a review meeting late Wednesday evening to tackle the problem.
A total of 57 farm fires were reported on October 29, 53 on October 30, 69 on October 31, 75 on November 1, 80 on November 2, 59 on November 3, and a significant peak of 184 on November 4. Subsequently, there were 89 cases on November 5, 86 on November 6, 96 on November 7, and 17 on November 8.
Despite the substantial reduction in stubble burning incidents over the past 24 hours, Ludhiana’s Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the ‘very poor’ category at 285 on Thursday. Experts attribute this to the drop in temperature and clear, dry weather conditions, which have contributed to deteriorated air quality.
The administration has taken proactive steps to combat stubble burning. Joint teams of civil and police administration have visited locations identified by the remote sensing center where farm fire incidents were reported. These teams, in collaboration with fire brigade units, swiftly extinguished the fires to prevent air pollution. The authorities also imposed environmental compensation in several cases as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court.
Across all tehsils, 1,089 fire incidents were reported, with 265 cases of environmental compensation imposed, totaling ₹675,000. There were 125 cases of environmental compensation pending, 4 cases of prosecution filed under Section 39 of the Air Act, 1981, 32cases with red entry made in khasra Girdawari, and 29 cases pending visits.
