State sees 77 farm fires, count rises to 10,682

Punjab witnessed a total of 77 farm fires on Sunday, with Ferozepur topping the list with 10 farm fires. Today’s fires took the toll this season to 10,682.

According to the data compiled by the Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Ferozepur with 10, Bathinda and Moga with eight cases each and Fazilka and Kapurthala with seven cases each were on top of the list.

Senior officials of the Agriculture Department, meanwhile, claimed that they had been largely successful in keeping the farm fire count down. “This season has been much better as compared to the past three years. We are hopeful that the farm fires will be negligible in the coming week as the majority of wheat has already been sown,” said an Agriculture Department official.

The state recorded a total of 83,002 farm fires in 2020, 71,304 in 2021, 49,922 in 2022 and 36,663 in 2023.

The air quality index in major cities of Punjab on Sunday was 270 in Mandi Gobindgarh, 155 in Patiala, 260 in Ludhiana, 162 in Khanna, 209 in Jalandhar, 167 in Amritsar and 128 in Bathinda.