In Haryana, 250 stubble-burning cases in a day

Parveen Arora

Karnal, October 25

Haryana has recorded the highest stubble burning cases in a day on Diwali this season. It witnessed 250 cases in a single day on Monday, taking the number of total cases to 1,372.

However, compared to last year, the total number of cases is lesser as last year till October 25, the state had reported 1,835 cases.

The authorities claimed that the efforts to educate farmers about stubble burning are bearing fruit as a large number of farmers are adopting crop-management methods. “Over 80 per cent of paddy harvesting has been completed and Haryana has recorded around 26 per cent less cases in comparison to last year till October 25. It is a good sign and we are hopeful that in the coming years, farmers of the state will completely shun stubble burning,” said an official of the Agriculture Department.

As per the data, as many as 217 cases were reported on Sunday, a day before Diwali. On Tuesday, the state witnessed only 12 cases, which is a respite.

Kaithal continues to remain at the top position in the tally as it reported 381 cases till Tuesday evening, followed by Kurukshetra (244). Karnal is at the third spot with 224 cases. Fatehabad witnessed a spike as it witnessed 33 cases on Monday, taking the total number to 139, the data said.

With 110 cases of stubble burning, Jind district is at fifth position and Ambala is at sixth place with 94 cases, the data added.

Yamunanagar is at the seventh position with 80 cases, followed by Sirsa (27), Hisar (23), Panipat (21), Palwal (17), Sonepat (11) and Faridabad (1), the data revealed.

Deputy Director Agriculture, Kaithal, Karam Chand said that they were verifying the locations of active farm fires shared by the Haryana Space Applications Centre. “We have imposed a fine of Rs 7,07,500 on 280 farmers for stubble burning. We are making efforts to educate farmers about stubble management,” said the director.