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Punjab sees 57% jump in farm fires in a day
The last five days have seen an upward trend in the incidents of farm fires across Punjab as harvesting of paddy, a major kharif crop, is picking up pace
BATHINDA : The last five days have seen an upward trend in the incidents of farm fires across Punjab as harvesting of paddy, a major kharif crop, is picking up pace.
Data from the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) says 337 farm fires were reported in the state till October 1, against 214 on Saturday, a 57% jump in a day.
Of the total farm fire incidents (recorded since September 15), 326 were registered in just five days (from September 27 to October 1).
On Sunday, Punjab reported 123 cases of stubble burning from nine districts of three regions of Majha, Malwa and Doaba. Of 23 districts of Punjab, farm fires are being reported in 15 districts.
To date, Amritsar has reported the maximum of 260 farm fires followed by 33 in Tarn Taran and 10 in Kapurthala, according to the remote sensing centra data. Patiala, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Ferozepur among other districts have so far reported cases in single digit.
Officials said Sangrur, Bathinda, Ferozepur and Moga districts that are known for non-adherence to rules of not burning crop waste, are under watch.
“Since 2016, these districts have ranked among the top violators. Paddy harvesting in most of these districts is yet to start and it is to be seen how paddy growers behave this year,” said a government functionary requesting anonymity.
On the first day of October, Amritsar continued to report the maximum number of farm fires at 86 followed by 20 in Tarn Taran.
The PRSC started collecting data on farm fires from September 15 using satellite imagery and the very next day the first case was reported from Amritsar.
For the first few days, the fire events were limited to the Majha belt where paddy harvest begins earlier than the other parts of the state.
This kharif season, the environmentally hazardous practice of burning paddy stubble started surfacing on September 27 when 21 cases, were reported. Since then, the daily number has been growing.
On September 28, a total of 33 fires were reported and the next day it saw a more than two-fold surge when 68 cases were reported on a single day.
On September 30, another 81 farm fires were reported and on October 1, PRSC recorded 123 events of paddy stubble from different districts.
From September 28 onwards, farm fire cases have started pouring in from districts of Malwa and Doaba belts too, including, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Sangrur, Mansa and Ferozepur.
Grain markets in southwest Punjab wear deserted look
On the opening day of the 2023-24 kharif marketing season on Sunday, most grain markets in the southwest Punjab districts wore a deserted look.
The Punjab Mandi Board data says of the seven districts of the region, no arrival of paddy was reported from Bathinda, Moga and Muktsar.
Mandis in other districts saw token arrival of paddy ---- Faridkot 545 tonnes, followed by Mansa 462 tonnes, Fazilka 270 tonnes and Ferozepur 243 tonnes.
Bathinda district mandi officer Gurvinder Singh said farmers are expected bring their produce to mandis from October 10 as the crop is not ready for harvest yet.
Chief agriculture officer of Fazilka Gurmeet Singh Cheema said of about one lakh hectares under rice cultivation, the district has 70 lakh hectares under basmati and the rest under parmal varieties.
“Farmers are gearing up to harvest basmati whereas non-basmati varieties may take few more days,” said Cheema.
