Sultanpur Lodhi not spared, tops in Kapurthala dist

Aparna Banerji

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 3

As the state gets ready for the 550th Parkash Purb celebrations, the maximum stubble-burning cases in Kapurthala district have been reported from the holy city of Sultanpur Lodhi.

From October 27-31, the town saw 117 cases of stubble fires. In Doaba, the most number of fires were witnessed in Kapurthala and Jalandhar. On Diwali, 144 incidents were reported in Kapurthala and 134 in Jalandhar. On October 30, 102 were reported in Kapurthala and 86 Jalandhar, while on October 31, Kapurthala witnessed 78 cases and Jalandhar 76.

Besides Sultanpur Lodhi, stubble-burning incidents have also seen a spike at Shahkot, Dhilwan, Bholath and Nadala.

Sarwan Singh, a farmer at Sultanpur Lodhi, said, “It is shameful that farmers are burning paddy residue even ahead of the 550th Gurpurb. We did not burn any parali. Some farmers backed by unions are indulging in the practice to save money.”

He said, “Some have reported genuine problems. The machine provided by the government can only be employed with the help of tractors costing more than Rs 6 lakh, which poor farmers can’t afford. The subsidy has also evaded marginal farmers. Disposing of 6-8 tonnes of stubble is a huge task. Burning it is a shortcut method.”

DPS Kharbanda, Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala, said, “We have lodged two FIRs at Sultanpur Lodhi against erring farmers. Forty teams in the district have been deployed to prevent stubble-burning. A team of the Agricultural Department is also on the job. We are actively sending teams to villages and to ensure that no fire incident takes place.”