Farm fires rage in Punjab, record 1,251 cases in a day

Punjab witnessed season’s biggest spike in farm fire cases with 1,251 stubble-burning incidents reported on Monday.

Muktsar district topped the state with 247 incidents of farm fire, followed by 149 in Moga.

As many as 130 incidents of stubble-burning were reported in Ferozepur, 129 in Bathinda, 94 in Fazilka, 88 in Faridkot, 77 in Tarn Taran and 73 in Ferozepur.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board is under scrutiny and facing allegations of under-reporting of farm fire incidents. Scientists monitoring the farm fires claimed that many farmers were setting paddy residue on fire post afternoon, dodging the satellite.

While the pollution control board claimed have brought down farm fires by 70% than previous years, farmers could be seen evading the satellite by setting the paddy residue on fire post 3 pm.

Even today, farmers on the Patiala-Sirhind Road in Patiala and Fatehgarh districts of the state were seen setting the paddy residue on fire post 3 pm in order to dodge the satellite

The visible imaging radiometer suites installed on the Suomi NPP and MODIS Aqua satellites, which capture farm fires, cross the region’s pathway during the afternoon and return well after midnight.