Punjab records 2,721 farm fires, least in 2 years

Tribune News Service

Aman Sood

Patiala, October 20

The state has recorded 2,721 incidents of stubble-burning till October 20. The number is 1,009 less than the last year.

According to data, Punjab recorded 96 farm fires on October 20, with Tarn Taran at the top with 14 such incidents. Last year, 635 farm fires had taken place on October 20.

Harvesting-sowing window short

Due to the short window between paddy harvesting and sowing of wheat crop, we have no option but to resort to burning stubble. If we sow wheat without removing the straw, the rabi crop gets infested with pests and weeds. -- A farmer

In 2020, as many as 8,065 incidents were recorded till October 20, while the count was 3,730 and 2,721 in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

According to the government data, the state recorded 71,304 cases of stubble-burning in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018.

Decline in no.

Year Cases

2018 50,590

2019 55,210

2020 76,590

2021 71,304

2022* 2,721

*(Till Oct 20)

Many districts, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar, recorded large number of stubble-burning incidents.

Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) in various cities of the state is worsening.

The AQI in Jalandhar was 142, 133 in Ludhiana, 144 in Patiala, 168 in Amritsar and 124 in Khanna.

Interestingly, despite farm fires being a regular practice in Punjab every year, there is no fixed mechanism to check air quality in villages.

“For measuring the AQI, the six stations in the cities depend on the flow of air through their machines despite the fact that the wind velocity is as low as 2 km per hour for most part of the day,” say officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

“Due to the short window between paddy harvesting and sowing of wheat crop, we have no option but to resort to burning stubble. If we sow wheat without removing the straw, the rabi crop gets infested with pests and weeds,” said a farmer.

Officials of the Agriculture Department said they would create awareness about stubble-burning and “low yield cannot be linked to in-situ management of crop residue”.

Even though the government has rolled out a slew of subsidies and incentives, these have failed to bring about a change. Farmers complain of problems with the efficiency of machines, their availability and high cost.

In August this year, the Punjab Government reported to the Supreme Court that it had not been able to provide cash incentives to farmers owing to Covid-related financial constraints.

Every season, over 15 million tonnes of paddy straw is burnt in open fields ahead of the winter sowing.

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#Agriculture #Environment #farm fires #Pollution #tarn taran