To dodge satellite, farmers in Punjab resort to stubble burning during night
While farm fires continue to maintain a steady upward trend across the state, there has been a noticeable spike in the number of such cases during the late evening or night hours.
This is because the farmers of the region have found a way to hoodwink the monitoring agencies that rely heavily on satellite imaging.
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space starts tracking farm fires from September 15. The visible imaging radiometer suites installed on Suomi NPP and MODIS Aqua satellites capture these images.
Hoodwinking agencies
• The visible imaging radiometer suites installed on Suomi NPP and MODIS Aqua satellites capture images of farm fires
• These satellites cross the region’s pathway during the afternoon and well after midnight
• Farmers have come to know about this, and they have started resorting to farm fires during the late evening or night hours
The data so collected is also shared with the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) located in Ludhiana and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Patiala. The data regarding active farm fires with specific location is further shared with the district heads for initiating action against violators.
Dr Vinay Sehgal, Principal Scientist and Professor at the Division of Agricultural Physics at CREAMS Laboratory, Delhi, said, “We are collecting data from the VIIRS aboard Suomi NPP and MODIS Aqua satellites. These satellites cross the region’s pathway during the afternoon and well after midnight.”
“Farmers have come to know about this and that is the reason we are witnessing a spike in farm fires during evening and night hours. This has led to a decline in the number of such cases on the crop residue burning dashboard,” added Sehgal.
The question is how this information has reached farmers. “Top officials have washed their hands off the matter by delegating duties to lower-rung officials. Government employees deployed in districts have been instructed to stop farm fires or face FIRs and departmental chargesheets. These employees seem to have shared this information with farmers to avoid conflict,” sources said.
“At present, these government employees have been caught in a crossfire. When they enter the fields to stop farmers from burning stubble, it often leads to heated argument and even clashes. When they fail to comply with official orders, they face censure from the authorities,” revealed one of the government employees.
Chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board Adarshpal Vig has appealed to the farmers to avoid setting paddy residue on fire. He said those involved in farm fires would not be able to escape penalty. “Besides, satellite images, on-ground teams are also monitoring farm fires, capturing images and sharing these with officials,” he said.
Former IAS officer and Chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Kahan Singh Pannu, who has taken up farming after retirement, said, “It cannot be ruled out that farm fire incidents have declined due to efforts of successive governments. A large number of farmers have given up the practice and are opting for in-situ and ex- situ methods of stubble management.”
