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Punjab: 65% spike in stubble burning cases in a day
Punjab on Sunday reported 92 cases of stubble burning, a jump of 65% from Saturday when the state saw 32 incidents of farm fires
BATHINDA : Punjab on Sunday reported 92 cases of stubble burning, a jump of 65% from Saturday when the state saw 32 incidents of farm fires.
Districts of the Malwa belt contributed 42 fires on the weekend even as the straw burning cases in the state reached 969 this season, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) data.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is attributed as one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR in October and November.As the window for rabi wheat sowing after paddy harvest is very short, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the residue.
Data shows that eight districts of the Malwa region, including Mohali, showed a spike in fires on Sunday. Mohali reported 14 farm, Patiala 13, Sangrur 6, Ferozepur 3, and Fazilka and Faridkot two each, according to the data. Faridkot and Ludhiana saw one fire event each on Sunday.
Majha belt, where rice harvest begins earlier than the rest of the state, recorded 41 stubble burning cases.
Of a total of 969 fires reported this season so far, Amritsar alone has registered a maximum of 559 cases, followed by 139 in Tarn Taran.
On Sunday, farm fires were reported from 12 districts and a maximum of 22 active fires were recorded in Amritsar. Another district in the Majha belt, Tarn Taran, saw 19 fires.
A total of nine stubble burning incidents were reported from the Doaba region --- eight in Kapurthala and one in Jalandhar.
The state recorded 49,922 farm fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018 with many districts, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar, witnessing large-scale stubble burning incidents.
Last year, Punjab witnessed a 30% drop in stubble burning incidents compared to 2021.
7.45 lakh tonne of paddy arrives in mandis
Mandis across the state witnessed brisk arrival of non-basmati varieties. A total of 1.4 lakh tonnes of paddy reached the grain markets on Sunday, according to the mandi board data.
Till October 8, 7.45 lakh tonne paddy has already arrived in the mandis and 93% of it has been purchased.
