In a day, stubble burning cases up from 49 to 69 in Jalandhar district

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, May 9

Within a day, stubble burning cases jumped from 49 to 69 in Jalandhar district. On way from Nakodar to Jalandhar, fires were witnessed in fields from which wheat had been harvested. Several fields turned black after the crop residue was set on fire.

Such rise in cases in a day clearly shows that in the coming days, more and more farmers would resort to stubble burning. Recently, it was highlighted in these columns that farmers in Bajra village had not burnt any wheat stubble.

Most cases have been reported from the Phillaur, Shahkot and Bhogpur area. To tackle the problem, the Agriculture Department has taken an initiative of sharing videos of farmers, who have refrained from burning stubble for several years, on social media platforms.

The Agriculture Department also uploaded these videos on — “Safal Kisan” — a YouTube channel.

There are such examples from Hoshiarpur too. For over 10 years, farmers here have not burnt any stubble, be it of paddy or wheat. This is because of farmers’ awareness and resilience of Lambra Kangri Multipurpose Cooperative Society, which has been ensuring that farmers get stubble management machines whenever they needed.

These villages in Hoshiarpur district include Lambra, Dudiana Kalan, Bairon Kangri and Baggewal. Be it a happy seeder or a super seeder, the society provides machines to every farmer in these villages.

Earlier, Jaswinder Singh, CEO of the society, had said, “Our society has been working for the welfare of farmers for long time. To make farmers aware of the ill-effects of stubble burning is one of the aims of the society.”