8 new cases of farm fire in Punjab

Call it effective enforcement or rising awareness, the early trends emerging so far indicate 70 per cent decline in farm fires across the state.

In all, 179 incidents of stubble burning were reported in the state till Thursday, while 561 incidents of farm fires were reported during the corresponding period in 2023, a departure of 70 per cent.

On Thursday, the state witnessed eight incidents of farm fire. Three cases were reported in Amritsar, followed by Gurdaspur (two), Tarn Taran (two) and Jalandhar (one).

Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman Adarshpal Vig said, “We are keeping our fingers crossed. We thank farmers for cooperating with us in saving the environment from pollution.”

Director (Agriculture) Jaswant Singh said the department had sent 8.5 lakh messages to farmers across the state urging them not to burn crop residue. “We are receiving encouraging response from the farmers. They are showing keen interest in both in-situ and ex-situ management of stubble instead of burning it. The next 25 days will be crucial for us,” he said.