Delhi air quality
has worsened owing to a noteworthy spike in farm fires that was shown by the
NASA Worldview portal during the weekend (November 4 and 5).
Farm fires in
Punjab are one of the biggest reasons behind aggravated air quality in national
capital Delhi.
Paddy straw
burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the prime reasons behind the
alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar
Pradesh in October and November every year, according to environmentalists.
As the window for
sowing wheat, a key rabi crop is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers
set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue.
Yesterday, 3,230
farm fires, the highest in a day so far this season were reported by PTI.
Out of the 3,230
stubble-burning incidents reported on Sunday, Sangrur reported the maximum at
551. This was followed by 299 in Ferozepur, 293 in Mansa, 247 in Bathinda, 189
in Barnala, 179 in Moga, 177 in Tarn Taran, and 169 in Patiala.
So far, 17,403
farm fire incidents have occurred in Punjab alone this year as per the Punjab
Remote Sensing Centre data.
Farm fires
reported in November constitute 56 per cent of the total stubble-burning
incidents this season, the data showed.
Punjab recorded
49,922 stubble burning incidents in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020,
55,210 in 2019, and 50,590 in 2018, it stated.
Both in Punjab and
Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party is in power, therefore, BJP has accused AAP supremo
Arvind Kejriwal of failing to tackle the pollution crisis in the national
capital.
Last week, a group
of farmers allegedly defied the orders of a farm fire prevention team and
forced an officer to set a heap of stubble on fire in Punjab’s Bathinda
district.
A purported video
of the entire incident also surfaced on social media.
In the video,
farmers could be heard saying that those who came to stop stubble burning were
made to set the crop residue on fire.
The video also
shows that the official’s hand was held by two farmers, as they forced him to
set the stubble on fire with a match stick. The video was made by one of the
farmers.
Following the
incident, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the incident. He said
this incident has reflected that their words are not honoured by the people of
the State.
The Delhi Government
has announced the closure of all primary schools till November 10.
