Punjab on cusp of stubble revolution: CAQM chief

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Chairman Rajesh Verma on Thursday said that a stubble revolution was now taking shape in Punjab.

Verma, accompanied by CAQM Member Secretary Tarun Kumar Pithode, visited the Rajpura thermal power plant to review the blending of biomass pellets with coal and to assess the ongoing stubble management initiatives in Patiala district.

Verma said paddy straw had now emerged as a source of income for farmers. He remarked that following the Green Revolution, Punjab’s farmers were leading a “paddy stubble revolution”, reflected in the sharp decline in stubble burning incidents this year compared to previous seasons.

Recalling his visit to Punjab on November 13 last year, he said, “At that time, smoke was visible everywhere, but today the sun is shining bright. Even fireworks were seen during Gurpurb celebrations yesterday — a sign of clearer skies.”

Farmers protest over denial of meeting

A group of farmers under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Malwai) on Thursday staged a protest, accusing the police of preventing them from meeting the CAQM Chairman at a bio-energy plant near Khandeabad village in Sangrur.

The farmers said they wanted to meet him to discuss stubble management issues and seek the cancellation of FIRs and fines imposed on them, but the police did not allow them the meeting.Later, a CAQM team visited Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat.