2,493 incidents in Nov, stubble fires far from out in state

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

A spurt has been witnessed in the incidents of stubble burning in Haryana, with the satellite images showing 2,493 active fire locations in the state in the first eight days of November.

The maximum number of cases in these eight days have been reported from Sirsa and Fatehabad districts alone, forcing Chief Secretary Depinder Singh Dhesi to call a meeting of the officers of the district administration, agriculture department and pollution control board of the two districts at Fatehabad on the forthcoming Sunday.

Fatehabad witnessed 987 incidents of stubble burning in the first week of November while Sirsa saw 544 farmers burning their paddy straw.

Fatehabad Deputy Commissioner Jai Kishan Abhir confirmed that Dhesi will reach the district on Saturday and will hold a meeting with the officials on this issue on Sunday morning.

According to the data of the Haryana Space Application Centre, Hisar, available with the authorities, 7,082 incidents of active fire locations (AFL) have been recorded in Haryana from September 25 to November 8.

Of these, 2,493 incidents have been recorded in the month of November alone, with maximum number of stubble burning cases (737 cases) reported on Wednesday, the day of Diwali, followed by 410 on Thursday.

Though the incidents of stubble burning are less than last year – 8,548 AFLs were witnessed last year from September 25 till November 8 – the sudden increase in the number has the authorities worried.

Among the districts with highest incidents of stubble burning this year, Fatehabad is on the top with 1,816 AFLs, Kaithal had 1,323, Karnal 884, Sirsa 818 and Kurukshetra had 737 AFLs from September 25 till November 8.

S Narayanan, Member Secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), admitted that a sudden increase in incidents of stubble burning had been witnessed in the state in November, but it was because of the two districts alone.

He said Fatehabad and Sirsa had contributed maximum to stubble burning, though these were not among the highest rice producing districts of the state.

Since late varieties of paddy were sown in these districts, the officials of the agriculture and pollution control departments had been alerted to check the menace and report wherever such cases came to notice, he stated.

“We are almost towards the end of paddy harvesting season and the total incidents of stubble burning in the state are 25 to 30 per cent less than that of last year. We are hopeful that the incidents will remain lesser this time, since the government has provided enough funds for eco-friendly management of crop residue,” Narayanan added.