216 new cases, 59 in CM’s home dist alone
The state recorded 216 fresh cases of stubble burning today, taking the overall tally of the season to 4,132. No wonder that the air quality index (AQI) of none of its cities featured in ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ category.
As per the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district Sangrur recorded 59 cases on Sunday followed by Ferozepur 26, Mansa and Moga 19 each, Taran Tarn 18 and Bathinda 16. Faridkot saw 10 cases, Kapurthala seven, Ludhiana and Muktsar six each, Barnala and Gurdaspur five each, Amritsar and Jalandhar four each, Patiala three, Malerkotla and SBS Nagar two each and Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur one each.
“The problem is that the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is getting narrow. The way the farm fire cases touched nearly 1,600 daily from November 13 to 17 last year, we can expect a similar count this year too,” said a top official. “Therefore, it is not over till it is over and regular monitoring is the key to prevention. So far, a majority of farmers have been busy with their paddy stock in mandis. They will now start preparing their fields for the next crop. With limited time for sowing wheat, they will surely resort to stubble burning,” he stated.
As per official figures, the state had recorded 83,002 paddy farm fire cases in 2020, 71,304 a year later, 49,922 in 2022 and 36,663 last year. The number of cases have been decreasing every year. During the period from September 15 to November 3, the state saw 24,146 farm fire cases in 2022, 12,813 in 2023 and 4,132 this year. While 216 fresh cases were recorded in the state on November 3 this year, the number stood at 1,551 last year and 2,666 in 2022.
“We are doing far better as compared to previous years. Currently, 18 stubble management plants are operational in the state, and 19 more are in the pipeline,” said Adarsh Pal Vig, Chairman, PPCB. “These plants play a significant role in reducing stubble burning. The total projected straw consumption at the plants should be around 7 lakh metric tonnes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the AQI continued to vary from ‘moderate’ to poor’ categories in major cities of the state. Amritsar recorded the AQI level at 261, Jalandhar 169, Ludhiana 115, Roopnagar 142, Patiala 194 and Mandi Gobindgarh 168. On the same day, last year, the AQI of Amritsar was 255, Ludhiana (254), Jalandhar (250), Mandi Gobindgarh (249), Khanna (246) and Patiala (229).
The AQI of 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
