12,112 farm fires in Punjab; 8,416 in week : The Tribune India

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12,112 farm fires in Punjab; 8,416 in week

A team extinguishes fire in a field at Panjola village near Patiala on Saturday. photo: Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service

Aman Sood

Patiala, October 29

Punjab continues to top the table among neighbouring states when it comes to farm fire incidents due to burning of paddy stubble. It alone accounts for more farm fires than the combined tally of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Punjab has recorded 12,112 farm fires this season, of which 8,416 cases were reported in the past one week. As many as 1,898 cases were reported on Saturday, the second highest single-day tally this season.

On October 29, 2020, Punjab witnessed 1,541 farm fires, while the tally was 1,353 in 2021. Till October 29 in 2020, Punjab had seen 23,187 farm fires, while the figure was 8,856 in 2021.

“The cases are expected to increase during the next fortnight as the harvest season is getting over in many districts,” said an official of the Agriculture Department.

The Chief Minister’s home district, Sangrur, topped the chart of maximum farm fires in the state on Saturday with 286 incidents followed by Patiala, the home district of former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, which reported 268 farm fires.

Cases likely to rise
The cases are expected to increase during the next fortnight as the harvest season is getting over in many districts. —Agri official

As per data compiled by the government, there were 2,067 farm fires in Punjab on Friday, the highest so far this season.

Neighbouring states have reported less farm fires this season. There have been 1,701 farm fires in Haryana, 632 in UP, 448 in Madhya Pradesh, five in Delhi and 190 in Rajasthan since September 15.

As a result of the rising farm fires, three Punjab cities have been placed in the poor category in terms of the air quality index (AQI). These are Patiala (205), Jalandhar (219) and Amritsar (217). With an AQI of 193, Khanna is nearing the poor category. The two cities which fall in the moderate category are Ludhiana (163) and Bathinda (134).

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Tribune News Service

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