Surge in farm fires raises alarm as 40% area yet to see harvest

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, November 2

The beginning of November has led to a sudden spike in fire cases across the state.

With close to 2,000 fires being reported daily, the total number of stubble-burning cases have crossed 10,000.

This surge in cases has raised the alarm among the agricultural authorities and environmental agencies as harvesting of the paddy crop is yet to gain momentum in various districts due to the sowing of long-duration varieties.

Patiala city most polluted

• Patiala remained the most polluted city with an AQI level of 307 followed by Bathinda 303, Jalandhar 220, Ludhiana 214, Amritsar 166 and Jalandhar 169
• According to health experts, such conditions may trigger severe breathing discomfort to people with asthma, lung and heart diseases

According to Jaswant Singh, Director of Agriculture for Punjab, “As per details received from the field, 60 per cent of the crop area has been harvested. In some areas of Majha, particularly Amritsar, 100 per cent harvest has been completed, while in the Malwa region, it is still picking up pace.”

The delay in paddy harvesting is primarily attributed to a combination of factors — the postponement of paddy sowing to conserve water resources and irregular rainfall patterns in July and August. These challenges have significantly disrupted crop maturity and left farmers with a limited window for sowing wheat, traditionally conducted from November 1 to 15.

The Agriculture Department has indicated that long-duration paddy varieties such as Peeli PUSA and PUSA-44, which require approximately 150 days to mature, have contributed to the delayed harvesting. While the seed of the long-duration varieties were not sold in Punjab, farmers procured these from a neighbouring state. The paddy is sown in approximately 31 lakh hectares, producing nearly 18 million tonnes of stubble annually.

GS Mangat, Additional Director of Research at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said, “The long-duration varieties are sown in 25 per cent of the total cultivated area this year. However, the area under long-duration varieties has been reduced by 5 per cent compared to last year. If farmers switch to short-duration varieties, it will not only save water, but also provide them with additional 20 days to prepare the field, potentially reducing the incidence of farm fires as these long duration varities also produce heavy stubble.”

A Punjab Pollution Control Board official voiced concern that the actual number of farm fires may be much higher than reported. A satellite data on farm fires is collected until 4 pm, and some farmers are reportedly setting their fields on fire after this time to evade penalties.