Punjab: Dhankhar’s plane fails to land amid poor visibility
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar had to attend two events in Ludhiana. His aircraft, unable to land in Ludhiana due to poor visibility, was diverted to Amritsar but there too the situation was same. Eventually, he had to go back.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar was unable to attend two events in Ludhiana as his aircraft couldn’t land due to poor visibility at the Halwara airbase on Tuesday. The region has been grappling with dense smog with over 7,000 stubble burning cases reported across Punjab.
Dhankhar was set to attend two functions, one at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and the other at Sat Paul Mittal School in Dugri. Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria, addressing a gathering at the PAU, said Dhankhar’s plane was diverted to Amritsar but there too the situation wasn’t better, forcing him to return. Ludhiana deputy commissioner Jitendra Jorwal and police commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal too blamed the visibility problem behind the absence of Vice-President from Ludhiana events.
Local authorities cited fog as the reason behind visibility issues, but experts from the PAU pointed to the worsening smog problem. Ludhiana has been covered by a thick blanket of smog since November 5. The city has recorded zero sunshine hours ever since. On Tuesday, the city recorded 213 on the Air Quality Index.
Weather experts have forecasted that as long paddy straw burning continues, the city is not expected to record much sunshine. “The window for wheat sowing is between October 15 and November 15. Most of the paddy has been harvested and the farmers are clearing their fields for wheat sowing. We can expect clear sunshine by November end,” said Dr Sompal Singh, professor, agricultural meteorology, PAU.
The district has recorded 162 cases of straw burning this season till 10 November, according to the data provided by the Punjab Pollution Control Board. Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Singh Bittu said Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann should work with the Union government to develop a comprehensive plan to combat the region’s severe smog issue.
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