Farm fires cross 1K mark, still less than half of 2022 in Ludhiana district

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, November 8

With 96 fresh cases, highest daily count in the current season, reported on Wednesday, the stubble burning tally crossed the 1,000 mark to reach 1,089, which was the ninth highest in the state, in Ludhiana district, the government has confirmed.

Even as the farm fires this season so far were less than half of 2,682 crop residue burning incidents recorded in the district in 2022, the air quality index (AQI) remains in poor category, causing a serious concern for public health, and turning Ludhiana as third most polluted city in the state on Wednesday.

The rising pollution levels, which engulfs Ludhiana under a thick blanket of smog, especially during the morning and evening hours, has led to the sudden spike in cases of respiratory, eye disorders and pulmonary complications.

A visit to a few clinics and hospitals in the district on Wednesday revealed that the patients, especially the children and aged, were flocking to doctors for treatment of various ailments caused by air pollution.

“We have witnessed a surge of almost 40 per cent patients complaining of respiratory, eye disorders and pulmonary complications, mainly caused by rising pollution levels since last week,” a leading paediatrician, Dr AP Singh, said.

The AQI further shot up from 239 on Tuesday to 294 on Wednesday. The data monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the AQI levels rise as the day progressed.

On Wednesday, the AQI was recorded at 246 at 12 am, which remained static till 2 am, and went up to 248 at 3 am, 249 at 4 am, 252 at 5 am, 255 between 6 and 7 am, 263 at 8 am, 268 at 9 am, reached 272 at 10 am, 277 at 11 am, 284 between 12 noon and 1 pm, 289 at 2 pm, 294 at 3 pm, 292 between 4 and 5 pm, 291 at 6 pm, and settling at 289 with PM2.5 remaining the prominent pollutant at 7 pm.

It left Ludhiana as the third most polluted city in the state on Wednesday.

“The trend clearly points fingers towards stubble burning as farm fires start with the onset of day and increase as the day progresses,” an agronomist, Dr Rajshree Nijjer, opined.

Spearheading a sustained campaign against the age-old menace, Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik on Wednesday instructed field officials from various departments, including the Police, Agriculture and the Revenue, to further intensify the IEC (information, education, and communication) campaign by fanning out in fields to check the incidents of stubble burning.

“Since the paddy harvesting has reached an advanced stage with over 80 per cent harvest already over, it is the most critical period with only a week left for the current Kharif season to end,” she said while asserting that all-out efforts were being made to ensure maximum implementation and minimum violations on the ground.

The crop management field officer (CMFO), Upinderjeet Kaur Brar, claimed that almost 600 of the total 968 villages in the district had so far recorded no farm fire and the current cumulative count was almost 40 per cent less than that of corresponding period last year.

She said a fine of Rs 3.6 lakh had been imposed as environmental compensation on farmers found burning their crop residue so far but she said the number of farmers found burning stubble was yet to be determined.

As per official information, environmental compensation has been imposed in 151 cases of farm fires and red entries in revenue records had been made in 22 such cases so far. However, no FIR has been registered in this regard as yet.

Meanwhile, accusing the state government of having “miserably failed” in tackling the stubble burning, Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin said the rising pollution levels had again exposed the “dual character” of the ruling AAP dispensation. “The Centre had provided Rs 1,720 crore for crop residue management to Punjab since 2018 but instead of management, paddy straw can be seen set on fire in almost every farm nowadays,” Sarin said.

Alleging “figure fudging”, the BJP leader questioned the government that if stubble burning, as claimed by it, had decreased, why the pollution level was rising with each passing day.

Big mismatch

As many as 1,089 cases of stubble burning (1.94 per cent of total harvested farmers) have been captured by the PRSC in Ludhiana till November 8, which the Deputy Commissioner, Surabhi Malik, said was 40 per cent less than the corresponding period last year.

Even as 151 farmers, accounting for mere 0.27 per cent of the total farmers who have already harvested their crop, have so far been fined Rs 3.6-lakh, with no FIR yet lodged against stubble burning in Ludhiana.

However, the rising AQI levels belie the official figures.

According to the official data, Ludhiana district has 70,286 land holders and paddy being the cash crop, all the farmers are into paddy farming.

Of the total 3,68,312 hectare area under Ludhiana district, cultivable land is 2,85,017 hectares and 2,56,900 hectares is under cultivation of two main crops of Kharif and Rabi while the remaining land has orchards and other plantations.

The Agriculture Department has claimed that 80 per cent of the farmers in the district have already harvested their paddy crop, which means 2,05,520 hectares of the land has already been cleared of the rice crop.

Till Wednesday, almost 14-LMT, including over 13.6-LMT parmal and some 40,000-MT basmati rice, has arrived across 13 grain markets in Ludhiana, which also accounts for around 76 per cent of the total expected yield this season.

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#Agriculture #Environment #Farm Fires #Pollution #Stubble Burning