Fewer farm fires in Punjab; 1,501 farmers penalised in Haryana
Of the 2,666 incidents on Thursday, 92% cases were reported from the Malwa region. Sangrur recorded the highest farm fire count for the seventh consecutive day as 452 cases were reported form the district.
Punjab recorded 2,666 farm fires on Thursday with a state government official saying that the incidents are not likely abate before second week of November.
On Wednesday, Punjab had recorded 3,634 fires nearly double than seen on Tuesday.
“With the harvest coming to an end in many parts of the state, a major spike is seen in the farm fires. Smog is visible in both rural areas and cities,” said the government official, and added that the trend will continue till the second week of November.
Of the 2,666 incidents on Thursday, 92% cases were reported from the Malwa region. Sangrur recorded the highest farm fire count for the seventh consecutive day as 452 cases were reported form the district.
In the neighbouring Haryana, the state government challaned 1,501 farmers and imposed a fine of ₹ 36.40 lakh on them for non-compliance of the ban on burning crop residue with the state reporting 128 fire incidents on Thursday.
According to officials, the highest ₹ 9.05 lakh fine has been imposed on 361 farmers in Kurukshetra district and ₹ 5 lakh on 197 farmers in Karnal district. A total of 373 farmers were challaned in Kaithal district and ₹ 8.85 lakh fine has been imposed on them, they said.
The Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) spotted 48 fires in Fatehabad, followed by 27 in Jind, 19 in Kaithal, 11 in Sirsa, 5 in Ambala, 4 each in Karnal and Hisar, 3 each in Palwal and Yamunanagar, 2 in Rohtak.
Officials monitoring the ban on the farm fires said that the cases may go up in the next couple of days as around 50% of the crop is yet to be harvested in Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts.
Hardeep Singh, director general of Haryana agriculture and farmers welfare said that the state government has taken several measures to put a check on farm fires. “Now two HCS officers from headquarters have been deputed in Fatehabad and Sirsa districts to monitor farm fires for a week,” he added.
