Punjab logs 484 farm fires on Diwali, biggest spike of season
Punjab witnessed season’s biggest spike in farm fire cases with 484 stubble-burning incidents reported on Diwali, on Thursday.
Sangrur topped the state with 89 incidents of farm fires, while 65 incidents were registered in Ferozepur, followed by 40 in Mansa and 36 in Fatehgarh Sahib.
As many as 35 each were reported in Tarn Taran and Kapurthala, 33 in Patiala. As many as 29 incidents of farm fires were reported in Amritsar, 28 in Bathinda and 20 were reported in Gurdaspur.
The total farm fire count has reached 2,950. The uptick in farm fires was first witnessed in the second week of October when the state witnessed 177 stubble-burning incidents on October 12, followed by 173 on October 15 and 163 on October 13.
Besides, 219 incidents of residue burning were reported on October 29.
According to pollution control board experts, the number was likely to rise in the coming days as the window period — November 1 to November 15 — for wheat sowing is approaching. Farmers in order to clear the field for wheat may set the residue on fire.
They had expressed fear that cases of stubble burning may spike on Diwali as official machinery would be busy in festivities.
Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index in several places in Punjab were recorded in the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories on Friday, the morning after Diwali.
Amritsar's AQI was in the 'very poor' category with a reading of 314. The AQI in Mandi Gobindgarh was at 331, Khanna at 308, Jalandhar at 253, Ludhiana at 214 and Patiala at 260. — with PTI inputs
