12 districts account for 83% of farm fires in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, November 21

Twelve districts of Punjab have again turned out to be the biggest contributors to air pollution, according to the data shared by the Punjab Remote-Sensing Centre (PRSC).

As per the data, Sangrur tops the state with 5,565 in farm fires, followed by Ferozepur 3,322, Bathinda 2,900, Moga 2,596, Barnala 2,266, Mansa 2,235, Tarn Taran 2,012, Faridkot 1,955, Patiala 1,859, Ludhiana 1,770, Fazilka 1,594 and Muktsar 1,563.

513 new incidents

• 513 cases of farm fires were witnessed in the state on Tuesday
• With this, the total count of farm fires has now reached 35,606
• At 105, Fazilka logged the maximum number of cases
• Moga district reported 81 incidents, Muktsar 47, Ferozepur 58, Barnala 40, Bathinda 37, Faridkot 31, Kapurthala and Sangrur 19 each, Ludhiana 16, Patiala 14, Jalandhar 10, Amritsar and Tarn Taran six each, while Gurdapur and Hoshiarpur districts witnessed two cases each

Collectively these 12 districts constitute 83 per cent (29,637) of the total 35,606 fire fires reported in the state so far.

However, there is a silver lining as these districts have also recorded 30 per cent (12,458) decline in stubble burning incidents as compared to last year. In 2022, out of the total of 49,922, 42,095 farm fires were reported from these 12 districts whereas this time, the number has fallen to 29,637.

Sangrur with 5,565 fires (5,239 in 2022) and Amritsar 1,567 (1542 in 2022) witnessed an upsurge in stubble-burning cases, says the data.

The districts, including Patiala and Muktsar, have shown an impressive decline in the number of farm fires. While Patiala has reported 1,859 as compared to 3,336 in 2022, Muktsar has witnessed 1,563 farm fire cases as compared to 3,884 reported last year.

Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman Adarshpal Vig said a special emphasis was laid on the 12 districts to curtail farm fires. “We have achieved some success as well. Several factors have contributed to the decline. Awareness, penalty, availability of CRM machines and establishing of the supply chain network between industry and farmers have also led to the decline in fire cases in some districts. We had projected to plug farm fires by 50 to 70 per cent but managed achieve 30 per cent of the target,” he said.

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