33 fresh farm fires take tally to 267 in state

With the sowing time for the winter crops drawing closer, the state on Tuesday witnessed this year’s highest number of farm fires (33). With this, the state has witnessed 267 cases of stubble burning so far.

On the same day in 2022, the number stood at three, while the figure was 58 during the last year.

Earlier, many farmers had not been harvesting their crop as there was no procurement due to a strike by the arhtiyas. However, with that strike being called off and the procurement getting underway, those farmers would now harvest the entire paddy crop, which means there might be a steep hike in the number of farm fire cases over the next couple of weeks, sources said.