Farm Fires

Govt must not let agri protests escalate

Farm fire incidents crossed the 30,000 mark in Punjab with the state witnessing 2,487 stubble-burning cases on Monday. With fresh crop residue burning incidents, the cumulative farm fire cases from September 15 to November 7, rose to 32,486, according to the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. The state reported 57,696 and 37,933 farm fires during the same period in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Out of a total of 2,487 farm fire incidents on Monday, Ferozepur witnessed 353 crop residue burning incidentsthe highest in the state, followed by 268 in Moga, 257 in Muktsar, 256 in Batala, 218 in Faridkot, 202 in Barnala, 180 in Sangrur, 177 in Fazilka and 165 in Mansa, according to the data. Punjab had seen 4,716 and 5,199 active fire incidents on November 7 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, as per the data. Currently, the districts in the Malwa region are reporting a rising number of stubble-burning incidents. Due to stubble burning, many places in Haryana on Monday evening

Violation of the Delhi government's ban on plying of certain vehicles owing to the rise in pollution will attract a penalty of Rs 20,000, a senior official said Friday. Delhi's air quality remained "severe" for a second day on the trot, with stubble burning accounting for 30 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in the capital, according to the Central Pollution Control Board and SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Ministry of Earth and Sciences. Delhi government has decided to implement the anti-pollution curbs recommended by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), including a ban on non-BS VI diesel-run light motor vehicles. Also, any diesel truck would not be allowed entry into Delhi except for those carrying essential commodities or providing essential services. However, all CNG and electric trucks would be allowed to enter Delhi, according to an order by the Transport Department. Diesel-operated medium and heavy goods vehicles registered in Delhi will not be allowed to

The number of paddy stubble burning incidents in Punjab rose 12.59 per cent year-on-year to 26,583 in the last 50 days, with a spurt in such cases after Diwali, according to the latest ICAR data. However, when compared to Punjab, the number of paddy stubble burning events in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi remained lower between September 15 and November 4 this year, the data showed. On Friday alone, a total of 2,945 stubble-burning events were detected in six states, out of which a maximum of 2,437 incidents were in Punjab, followed by Madhya Pradesh (348), Haryana (63), Uttar Pradesh (61), Rajasthan (34) and Delhi (2). Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the country's premier agriculture research institute under the aegis of the Agriculture Ministry, has come out with a bulletin based on the inputs from the three remote sensing satellites -- Suomi NPP, Terra and Aqua -- at the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). Stubble burning in Delhi'

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing on November 10 a PIL seeking fresh guidelines on stubble burning to curb rising air pollution in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR). A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi took note of the submissions of lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity, that the air pollution situation has worsened due to stubble burning in areas close to Delhi. "Even normal people cannot walk in such a situation," the lawyer said, adding that "Air Quality Index (AQI) level has risen due to stubble burning." "List it on November 10," the CJI said. The petition also sought a direction to the schools, colleges and government and private offices to go virtual/online. The lawyer alleged that the problem of pollution arises every year and that there was a serious threat on life and liberty due to the smog in Delhi NCR. "The matter is of grave concern which requires immediate ...

A total of 120 teams of the transport department will be in action at Delhi's entry points to ensure that trucks, apart from those carrying essential items, do not enter the national capital, officials said on Thursday. With Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) a notch short of entering the "severe plus" category, a central panel directed authorities on Thursday to ban the plying of four-wheeled diesel light motor vehicles in the city and the adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the capital as part of the anti-pollution measures under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). However, BS-VI vehicles and those used for essential and emergency services have been exempted, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). With a spike in the pollution levels, the enforcement teams of the transport department are fully involved in ensuring that the anti-pollution measures are implemented. "The teams will be deployed at the ent

Punjab on Thursday witnessed 2,666 farm fire incidents with Sangrur district seeing maximum crop residue burning cases. With the fresh number of farm fires, the cumulative farm fire cases during September 15 till November 3, rose to 24,146, according to the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. The state had reported 39,178 and 20,433 crop residue incidents during the same period in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Out of total 2,666 farm fire incidents on Thursday, Sangrur topped the districts with maximum 452 farm fires, followed by 336 in Bathinda, 269 in Ferozepur, 254 in Barnala, 205 in Mansa, 180 in Moga and 168 in Patiala. The state had reported 2,413 and 2,512 active fire incidents on November 3 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, as per the data. Currently, the districts in Malwa region are reporting a rising number of stubble burning incidents. The farmers continued to set crop residue on fire in order to clear fields for sowing the next crop--wheat and ...

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will convene a high-level meeting on Friday to discuss the implementation of curbs on polluting activities under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan, officials said on Thursday. Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index spiralled to 450, just a notch short of the "severe plus" category as the share of stubble burning in the national capital's PM2.5 pollution soared to 38 per cent amid stagnant conditions and favourable transport-level wind speed. As Delhi stood at the edge of a public health emergency, the Commission of Air Quality Management on Thursday directed authorities to ban the plying of four-wheeled diesel light motor vehicles in the city and adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the national capital as part of anti-pollution measures under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). However, BS-VI vehicles and those used for essential and emergency services are exempted, according to an order

Hospitals in Delhi are teeming with people suffering from cough, nasal congestion, shortness of breath and even asthma attacks as an eye-stinging smog blankets the national capital. With Delhi's air quality remaining 'severe', doctors advised a return to wearing masks to guard against pollution. While forecasters on Wednesday predicted the air quality to improve due to stronger winds, Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 426 at 9.10 am. An AQI of above 400 is considered 'severe' and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses. At Holy Family Hospital in Okhla, there has been a 30 per cent increase in such patients coming to out-patient departments, said Dr Sumit Ray, head of department of critical care. Last year, the hospital had started writing "pollution-related" in diagnosis in what was probably a first for a medical facility here. "There were two ICU (intensive care unit) patients for whom we wrote that diagnosis. For writing that

The share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution jumped to 38 per cent on Thursday, which, experts said was the reason behind the thick layer of pungent smog over the national capital. The increase in stubble burning has kicked off a political slugfest, with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday saying that there had been a 19 per cent rise in farm fires over 2021 in Punjab and that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had turned the national capital into a gas chamber. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in turn, blamed the central government for rising incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and said it should "resign" if it cannot control air pollution. Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said, "The share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution has increased to around 38 per cent which is quite significant." The air pollution situation is the worst in Noida which falls into the path of emissions

While the forecasters on Wednesday predicted the air quality was likely to improve on the back of stronger winds, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 426 at 9.10 am

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday blamed the central government for rising incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and said it should "resign" if it cannot control air pollution. He told reporters here that the Punjab government had prepared a plan to give a cash incentive of Rs 2,500 per acre to farmers so that they are not forced to burn stubble. "The Centre rejected the proposal. They said they won't do anything for the farmers because of their protests against the three farm laws. The central government's hatred for farmers is the reason behind the smoke (from farm fires) all around," Kejriwal claimed. He said the Delhi government has been doing everything possible to fight air pollution and has strictly implemented curbs on pollution activities under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Similarly, the Punjab government has taken all necessary steps to prevent stubble burning. "If the Centre cannot control air pollution, it should resign. We will then show how

The share of stubble burning in Delhi PM2.5 pollution rose to 32 per cent on Wednesday, the highest this year so far, amid raging farm fires in Punjab and favourable conditions for transport of emissions to Delhi-NCR. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) reported 3,634 farm fires in Punjab on Wednesday, the highest this year so far. The number stood at 1,842 on Tuesday, 2,131 on Monday, 1,761 on Sunday, 1,898 on Saturday and 2,067 on Friday. SAFAR, a forecasting agency under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution increased to 32 per cent due to favourable transport-level wind speed. Transport-level winds blow in the lowest two layers of the atmospherethe troposphere and stratosphere -- and carry smoke from farm fires to the national capital region. Moderately favourable surface-level wind speed (up to 8 kmph), however, did not allow rapid accumulation of pollutants, meteorology experts said. Farm fires accou

In a major spike in stubble burning incidents, Punjab on Monday reported 2,131 farm fires, the highest so far this season, with Sangrur accounting for 330. With the fresh incidents of stubble burning, the cumulative farm fire cases between September 15 and October 31 reached 16,004, according to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. During the same period in 2020 and 2021, the state had recorded 29,615 and 13,124 stubble burning incidents, respectively. Of the total 2,131 stubble burning incidents on Monday, Sangrur witnessed the highest number of cases at 330, followed by 250 in Ferozepur, 202 in Patiala, 178 in Bathinda, 174 in Tarn Taran, 126 in Barnala, 123 in Mansa and 112 in Jalandhar. Despite a massive awareness exercise by the state government to dissuade farmers from setting crop residue on fire, the growers continue to burn paddy straw to clear their fields for sowing the next crop -- wheat and vegetables. Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua took stock of the incident

The share of stubble burning in Delhi PM2.5 pollution rose to 26 per cent on Sunday, the highest this year so far, amid an increase in farm fires and favourable conditions for transport of emissions to Delhi-NCR. On Saturday, farm fires accounted for 21 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in the national capital. PM2.5 are fine particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter and can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs and entering the bloodstream. The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi's PM2.5 pollution remained low (up to 7 per cent) till Friday due to a prolonged rain spell in early October and slow transport-level winds which were not strong enough to carry smoke from farm fires to the national capital. On Diwali (October 24), stubble burning contributed five to eight per cent to the total PM2.5 pollution in Delhi. The share of farm fires in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution was 25 per cent on Diwali in 2021, 32 per cent in 2020 and 19 per cent in 2019. The I

Despite the Punjab government carrying out a massive awareness programme to dissuade farmers from setting crop residue on fire, the state recorded 1,898 stubble burning incidents on Saturday. With this, the cumulative number of farm fire incidents between September 15 and October 29 now stands at 12,112, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. During the corresponding in 2020 and 2021, the state had reported 23,187 and 8,856 stubble burning incidents respectively. Out of total 1,898 farm fire incidents on Saturday, Sangrur recorded the highest number of 286 cases, followed by 268 in Patiala, 192 in Tarn Taran, 109 in Barnala, 108 in Bathinda, 105 in Ludhiana and 104 in Ferozepur, as per the data. The state had reported 1,541 and 1,353 active fire incidents on October 29 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, according to the data. After Diwali, the state has seen a jump in the number of stubble burning incidents. The state's total number of farm fires has more than

Punjab reported 1,111 stubble burning incidents on Thursday

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the Centre's blunt refusal to provide cash incentive to farmers in Punjab for not burning crop residue has impacted the campaign against stubble burning in the agrarian state. In July, Delhi and Punjab governments had jointly sent a proposal to the Centre and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to help them give Rs 2,500 per acre as cash incentive to farmers in Punjab for not burning stubble. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said in September the Centre had turned down the proposal. Farmers say a cash incentive can help them cover the cost of fuel used in operating the machinery for the in-situ management (mixing crop residue in soil) of paddy straw. Addressing a press conference here, Rai said stubble burning in any area will have an impact on Delhi's air if the wind direction changes. "So, we have been talking to the Punjab government. But the main problem there is that farmers had demanded financial support (fo

Farmers are unconvinced about financial incentives; measures announced in previous years have had little impact

Latest live news: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet chief ministers and state finance ministers; Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Bhopal's revamped railway station.