Area under farm fires dips in Nawanshahr

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Nawanshahr, November 3

Nawanshahr has recorded a sizable decrease in the farm fire cases as compared to previous season of paddy harvesting, said Deputy Commissioner Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa.

After attending the virtual meeting of the Commission for Air Quality Management, New Delhi, Randhawa said during the ongoing season, crop residue on 4,630 hectares of land was burnt, as recorded by the Punjab Remote Sensing Center till October 31.

In the previous year, the area under the crop residue fire was 8,540 hectare, a difference of 3,910 hectares.

The DC said as many as 127 cases of burning of crop residue have been reported through satellite imaging as compared to a total number 356 of previous year.

With this, the district stands at the second spot in the tally of least farm fires recorded this year after Pathankot.

He said the district has an inventory of 1,884 crop residue management machinery including 313 of this season. “We have total 36 balers in our district as compared to last year that was just 17,” said Randhawa.

The administration has asked the namberdars and sarpanches to sensitise the farmers not to burn the paddy stubble in larger interests of humanity besides not to deprive themselves of the benefits and renewal of the mandatory licenses such as arms, passport and driving.

“The next few days are crucial for us in curbing farm fires as 90 per cent of the area under paddy has been harvested,” the Deputy Commissioner, Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, added.