Bathinda, Mansa record fewer farm fire cases

Sukhmeet Bhasin

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Bathinda, November 1

Bathinda and Mansa districts reported fewer incidents of stubble burning this year. As many as 880 farm fires have been reported in Bathinda, while Mansa has witnessed 522 farm fires so far. However, last year, Bathinda reported 4,481 cases and Mansa had reported 3,217 cases.

Experts have claimed that the incidents of paddy stubble-burning in the region may see a sharp spike in the next few days as harvesting of kharif crops in the south Malwa belt is expected to gain momentum this week.

It is also being claimed by experts that farm fires are fewer this year due to delayed harvesting in the southern Malwa region. On Tuesday, 160 farm fires were reported in Bathinda and 84 in Mansa.

In a bid to tackle stubble-burning, the Bathinda district administration had tied up with district industries, which collect stubble from fields and use it as a raw material in their units. This has also helped reduce the number of farm fires, but the exact picture will be clear only at the end of the harvesting season.

Incidents of stubble-burning are being detected using visible infrared imaging radiometer suite through satellite images by the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

As stubble-burning is picking momentum, it is affecting the air quality, due to which asthma and allergic patients are on the rise in the region.