In 6 days, 105 farm fires in Haryana

Parveen Arora

Karnal, October 2

With farmers continuing to burn crop residue, the cases of farm fires are increasing across the state. Haryana has witnessed 105 cases in just six days, taking the total number of stubble burning to 120 — from September 15 to October 2 — as per data of active fire locations captured by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC).

The number of farm fires is higher compared to last year, when the state had recorded only nine cases in the corresponding period. Advance harvesting is being considered a reason for the higher number of stubble-burning incidents, said an official of the Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Department.

The data revealed that the state recorded 24 cases on Monday, 21 on Sunday, 26 on Saturday, 17 on Friday, eight on Thursday and nine on Wednesday. With 28 cases, Kurukshetra district is at the top, followed by Ambala (19), Yamunanagar (17), Sonepat (16), Karnal (14), Fatehabad (6), Kaithal (5), Jind (5), Palwal and Panipat four each, and Rohtak and Jhajjar one each.

Meanwhile, the authorities are making efforts to check stubble-burning. Flag marches are being conducted jointly by the police and officials of the agriculture, revenue and Panchayati Raj departments. FIRs are being registered and explanations are being sought from officials under whose areas farm fires have been reported, said a senior official of the Agriculture Department.