Punjab ill-equipped to monitor real-time air quality in villages

It is 11 am in the remote village of Raungla where residents are finding it hard to breathe as smog has enveloped the area for the past four days. Ash-like matter has settled on cars parked in the open, indicating the quality of air that village residents breathe in.

The recent spike in farm fires has led to smog-like conditions in villages. Their residents are the first sufferers of the toxic flames rising from burning fields. High concentration of particulate matter adds to the health problems of residents; children and the elderly being the worst hit.

The Tribune team visited some villages in Fatehgarh Sahib, Khanna, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla and Mohali where stubble burning has been rampant.

“We live in smoggy conditions almost for a fortnight every year when stubble is set on fire,” said Karmanbir Singh, a farmer from Bassi Pathana block of Fatehgarh Sahib. “We need to stop this practice and save our children and elders from health complications,” he added.

“Thick smog has engulfed our village for almost a week. The conditions are worse during mornings and evenings. The sun is hardly visible. While the winters are yet to set in even though it is November now, mosquitoes, which would vanish usually by mid-October, are still found in our area,” said Jaskaran Singh, a landlord from Alamgir village near Ludhiana.

Interestingly, while farm fires take place in villages, the air quality index is measured only in big cities of the state. At present, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has no mechanism to obtain real-time data on air quality in villages. Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) help the PPCB assess real-time air quality. Any such station requires an investment of Rs 1 crore — Rs 80 lakh installation charges and Rs 20 lakh running expenditure.

PPCB Chairman Adarsh Pal Vig told The Tribune that nearby residents were the first ones to be affected by the smoke emanating from farm fires. Due to poor air velocity, villagers inhaling such air were the worst sufferers.

“The next few days are crucial and we are closely monitoring the farm fires, which have reduced significantly as compared to previous years,” he added.

Over the past few days, the air quality has dipped from moderate to poor category in many Punjab cities. PPCB officials said they had about 40 portable machines to record air quality in villages, but these machines did not provide real-time data.