State logs 179 cases of farm fire in 24 hours
Punjab witnessed 179 farm fires on Wednesday with Ferozepur and Sangrur topping the list with 26 incidents each, taking the total tally this season to 10,104.
According to the data compiled by the Punjab State Pollution Control Board, other districts to report such cases in double-digit included Muktsar (20), Tarn Tarn (15), Faridkot (14) and Fazilka (10). “The season has been much better as compared to past three years and we are hopeful that farm fires will ultimately end this week, as majority of the wheat has already been sown,” said an official of the Agriculture Department.
Senior officials of the Agriculture Department, meanwhile, claimed they had been largely successful in keeping farm fire count down. Following a spike in farm fires, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had last week issued notices to two deputy commissioners and two senior superintendents of police, asking them to file “explanation” on the issue.
Data compiled by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) states that till November 13, the state had imposed environmental compensation of Rs 1.30 crore in 3,846 cases out of which Rs 97.47 lakh has been realised. The data further shows that 4,097 FIRs have been registered and 3,842 red entries made in the land records of erring farmers.
