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Punjab logs 3,916 farm fires in a day, highest this season
As the window for wheat is very short after paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue. Punjab generates around 180 lakh tonnes of paddy straw annually
Patiala : With paddy harvesting in its last phase and the deadline for sowing wheat approaching, Punjab on Friday clocked 3,916 cases of stubble burning, making it the highest number of farm fire incidents so far this season.
As the window for wheat is very short after paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue. Punjab generates around 180 lakh tonnes of paddy straw annually.
According to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data, the cumulative farm fire cases from September 15 till November 11 reached 40,677. In the corresponding periods in 2020 and 2021, Punjab had registered 69,333 and 55,573 farm fire incidents, respectively.
On Friday, a majority of the cases were reported from the Malwa belt of the state as a sizeable part of the region has a tradition of growing late-sown varieties of paddy. Officials say burning of crop stubble witnessed a surge, particularly the southwest Punjab districts in the last few days, as farmers are trying to meet the deadline advised by experts to clear the fields and sow wheat by November 15 to get high yield.
Bathinda topped the farm fires chart on Friday clocking 523 cases, followed by Moga 446 and Muktsar 434, Fazilka 385, Mansa 306, Ferozepur 305, Barnala and Ludhiana 296 each, Faridkot 280, Sangrur 233 and Patiala 114, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.
Of the total farm fires in the state so far, Sangrur, the home district of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, reported 5,016 cases, the highest in the state this season.
Air quality improves
According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, despite jump in farm fires, Punjab’s air quality improved on Friday. “Wind speed didn’t allow pollutants to accumulate in the air and most of the Punjab woke up to a clear sky, said a Punjab Pollution Control Board official. According to the remote sensing centre data, Amritsar reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 206 (poor), Bathinda 179 (moderate), Jalandhar 191 (moderate), Khanna 150 (moderate), Ludhiana 202 (poor)and Patiala 134 (moderate). On Wednesday, the AQI of Khanna and Ludhiana was severe (above 400).
Small and marginal farmers are setting stubble on fire due to short window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing, said a farmer leader, Jagtar Singh, adding that farmers are trying to clear their fields of paddy straw and sow wheat by November 15. “Small farmers don’t have machinery for in-situ management of paddy stubble. As the Malwa belt was lagging in harvesting, there is a spike in stubble burning cases,” he said.
The state pollution control board is expecting that the stubble burning cases in Punjab will fall in the next four-five days.
