No let-up in stubble burning: 793 fire spots reported so far in Amritsar district

Tribune News Service

Manmeet Singh Gill

Amritsar, May 5

With a total of 793 stubble burning spots reported in the district post wheat harvesting, there seems no let-up in burning crop residue cases in the district. Even the government’s tall claims of strict action against the violators have failed to achieve the desired results.

Of the total stubble burning spots reported till date, 134 were reported on Friday. In order to check violations, the district administration has formed clusters of few villages, wherein a team of officials of the Agriculture, Revenue and Police Departments has been assigned to check the burning of stubble.

The officials stated that the report, after physical verification of the spot and investigation into the causes of the fire, is sent to the Punjab Pollution Control Board and the Revenue Department for further action. The government had earlier taken a decision to mark red entries into revenue records of the farmers who burn crop residue despite a ban.

The recent incident in Batala in which a school van landed into a burning field has exposed the lack of fear of the law. The casual manner in which these fires are left unattended without caring anything for the safety of commuters and nearby residents is being widely criticized.

Every year a large number of saplings and even large trees are burnt alongside roads. Even a number of accidents involving vehicles due to low visibility caused by smoke are reported.

A few days ago, a tree fell on a car near Attari as its stem was completely burnt by the fire. The smoke screen on the roads caused by such fires in the nearby fields also result in accidents as vehicle drivers cannot see properly.

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