Punjab: The state recorded 216 fresh cases of stubble burning today, taking the total number of cases this season to 4,132. No wonder, none of its cities’ air quality index (AQI) came in the ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ category. According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Sangrur, the home district of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, recorded 59 cases on Sunday, followed by Ferozepur with 26, Mansa and Moga with 19 each, Tarn Taran with 18 and Bathinda with 16. Faridkot had 10 cases, Kapurthala with seven, Ludhiana and Muktsar with six each, Barnala and Gurdaspur with five each, Amritsar and Jalandhar with four each, Patiala with three, Malerkotla and SBS Nagar with two each and Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur with one each. “The problem is that the time between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is getting shorter. The way farm fire cases had shot up to around 1,600 daily from November 13 to 17 last year, we can expect similar numbers this year too,” a top official said. “So, it is not over till it is over and regular monitoring is the key to prevention. So far most farmers have been busy with their paddy stocks in the mandis. They will now start preparing their fields for the next crop. With limited time for wheat sowing, they will definitely resort to stubble burning.” According to official data, the state had recorded 83,002 paddy fire cases in 2020, 71,304 a year later, 49,922 in 2022 and 36,663 last year. The number of cases is reducing every year. During the period from September 15 to November 3, the state witnessed 24,146 farm fire cases in 2022, 12,813 in 2023 and 4,132 this year. On November 3 this year, 216 new cases were reported in the state while the number was 1,551 last year and 2,666 in 2022.
PPCB chairman Adarsh Pal Wig said, “We are performing much better than previous years. Currently, 18 stubble management plants are operational in the state and 19 more are in the pipeline.” “These plants play a vital role in reducing stubble burning. The total estimated stubble consumption in the plants should be around 7 lakh metric tonnes,” he said. Meanwhile, the AQI in major cities of the state continued to vary from ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ categories. The air quality index was 261 in Amritsar, 169 in Jalandhar, 115 in Ludhiana, 142 in Rupnagar, 194 in Patiala and 168 in Mandi Gobindgarh. On the same day last year, Amritsar had an air quality index of 255, Ludhiana (254), Jalandhar (250), Mandi Gobindgarh (249), Khanna (246) and Patiala (229). An air quality index of 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
