E-Paper
Post rain, air quality improves in Punjab; no farm fires reported in Majha, Doaba region
As per the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI of Amritsar, Bathinda and Patiala was at ‘satisfactory’ level while Rupnagar was the only district that registered ‘moderate’ AQI on Sunday.
On Sunday, 69 fresh cases of paddy stubble burning were reported from seven districts of Malwa belt.
According to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), total cases of farm fires in this kharif harvest season reached 1,388.
Rainfall over the weekend brought some relief as the air quality index (AQI) at two of eight continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh in the state improved to ‘good’ level.
No farm fire was reported from the hotspot districts of Majha and Doaba region and the development is attributed to showers that hit several parts of the state.
According to PRSC data, Patiala reported a maximum of 32 fires followed by 21 in Sangrur and 11 in Mansa.
Two farm fires were spotted in Mohali while one each was recorded in Muktsar, Fazilka and Muktsar.
The PRSC started tracking farm fires using satellite images on September 15 and the state saw fewer farm fires as compared to the corresponding period in the last two years. Till October 15 last year, 1,238 farm fires were reported, while the number was 1,946 in 2021.
As per the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI of Amritsar, Bathinda and Patiala was at ‘satisfactory’ level while Rupnagar was the only district that registered ‘moderate’ AQI on Sunday.
CAAQMS at Jalandhar and Khanna had insufficient data for computing AQI on Sunday.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, 2.06 lakh tonnes paddy arrived in state mandis and total 1.98 lakh tonnes was purchased by various agencies. Total paddy arrival has reached 23.68 lakh tonnes so far.
