Haryana records 27 active stubble burning locations
Karnal, November 9
Haryana has witnessed 27 fresh cases of active fire locations (AFLs) in the past 24 hours, taking the number of total farm fires to 1,676. In the corresponding period last year, the state had recorded 2,693 cases.
Hisar reports 78 fire locations
Some farm fires may not be recorded by satellite. In Fatehabad district, HARSAC recorded 338 active fire locations, and the administration also detected 27 other fire locations. In Hisar, HARSAC reported 78 fire locations, while eight other incidents were detected by officials. Dr Karam Chand, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Rohtak
Reports from fields indicate that the number of fire incidents could be higher and the air quality of various districts has turned to “poor”, “very poor”, and “severe” categories.
With 351 cases, Fatehabad district is at top across the state, followed by Jind (245), Kaithal (234), Ambala (184), Kurukshetra (148), Karnal (103), Yamunanagar (81), Hisar (79), Sirsa (66), Sonepat (59), Palwal (56), Rohtak (31), Panipat (20), and Jhajjar (11).
Apart from the cases traced by HARSAC, field teams in Kaithal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Hisar, Ambala, Kurukshetra, and other districts have traced other fire cases.
The authorities of the Agriculture Department concede that there may be a mismatch between the actual number of farm fires and those reported by HARSAC, but the HARSAC authorities claim that the data is based on satellite imagery, and there is no possibility of inaccuracy.
Dr Karam Chand, Deputy Director of Agriculture (DDA), Rohtak, maintains that some farm fires may not be recorded by satellite. In Fatehabad district, HARSAC recorded 338 active fire locations, and the administration also detected 27 other fire locations.
In Kurukshetra, HARSAC has reported 148 locations, while the administration has traced 208 more locations, which shows there are discrepancies in reporting.
In Ambala, DDA Jasvinder Saini says, “Besides 184 fire incidents reported by HARSAC, 34 cases have been reported by the local staff.”
In Kaithal district, HARSAC has traced 234 cases, while the field teams have found 143 more cases.