Health up in smoke : The Tribune India

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Health up in smoke

Jagdeep Singh, a 60-year-old from Nagla village in Lehragaga sub-division of Sangrur district, was all fine till a few weeks ago, but breathing has become really difficult for him in the past few days.

Health up in smoke

Photos: The Tribune & Agencies



Tribune Team

 Jagdeep Singh, a 60-year-old from Nagla village in Lehragaga sub-division of Sangrur district, was all fine till a few weeks ago, but breathing has become really difficult for him in the past few days. A farmer himself, end of paddy season makes him uneasy as he faces various respiratory issues.

Incidentally, Jagdeep Singh is not the only one facing breathing issues in rural Punjab. Data from government and private hospitals suggests that health problems have risen sharply in the Malwa region ever since farmers started setting stubble ablaze. Jagdeep says he cannot venture out alone even when he has to cover a short distance. “I need a family member round the clock to take care of me,” he says. Aware of the dark side of stubble burning, he has now stopped stubble burning. However, the others around him have not.

Sixty-year-old Balvir Kaur from Kanjhla village too has been suffering from endless cough for the last eight to 10 days. “I feel better if I stay indoors, but start coughing as soon as I step out. It is increasing with each passing day as smoke from stubble has engulfed the entire area," she says.

The younger lot isn’t any better. Paramjeet Kaur, 35, from Jhoonda village blames Punjab Government for failing to contain stubble burning. “I have severe chest infection. Doctors have told me to stay away from stubble smoke, but it is not possible as our residence is close to paddy fields,” she says.

At hospitals across Punjab, the number of patients with respiratory problems has catapult since last week. “Stubble burning is causing serious respiratory problems, uneasiness in chest, burning in eyes and infection in lungs. We have been trying our level best to treat all patients,” says Dr Kirpal Singh, senior medical officer at Sangrur Civil Hospital.

In Moga, the district authorities have been claiming that the instances of farm fire have declined this year. However, the suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the air is much above the permissible limit of 200 microgram. The sudden climatic change coupled with air pollution has also led to an increase in cases of sore throat, nasal, respiratory, viral and eye infections. Dwarka Bansal, chairman of the local senior citizens’ council, says the elderly, including him, are suffering from irritation in the eyes and respiratory problems.

Dr Navdeep Singh Brar, a senior ayurvedic officer, says Diwali has added to people’s woes. He says 70 to 80 patients are visiting him daily with throat and viral infections.

In Muktsar district too, elderly people and newborn babies are bearing the brunt of paddy stubble burning. Till last week, nearly 2,200 such farm fires had been reported in the district. The many awareness rallies and anti-stubble burning drives have been rendered futile. Farmers have been defiant of bans and requests. They say stopping stubble burning is not a solution for them. They have been demanding subsidy or bonus for environment-friendly disposal of stubble. The rhetoric about safe disposal and making compost from stubble has been lost in the smog, and so has health.

— Parvesh Sharma in Sangrur, Kulwinder Sandhu in Moga, Balwant Garg in Faridkot and Archit Watts in Muktsar


Lost and gained

Farmers in Punjab burn 196 lakh MTs of wheat and paddy straw every year. The burning of a tonne of straw releases 3 kg particulate matter, 60 kg carbon monoxide, 1460 kg carbon oxide, 199 kg ash and 2 kg sulphur oxide in the environment, says Umendra Dutt from Kheti Virasat Mission. The large-scale burning releases trace gases, along with sub micron-sized aerosols, which are known to aggravate lung and respiratory diseases. 

Violators galore

Of the 1,250 stubble burning incidents in Faridkot district, the revenue department has made “red circle” entries in Khasra and Girdawari (land record with revenue department) of about 1,025 farmers who have burnt the stubble in their fields in the district. That is how the department is keeping a tab on farmers who have violated the directions, says a senior functionary in the revenue department on condition of anonymity

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