Farm fires in Punjab drop sharply to 415 this year from 1,510 in 2024: Data

Punjab recorded 415 farm fire incidents between September 15 and October 21 this year down from 1510 incidents during the same period last year data showedThe number of farm fires recorded in 2023 during this period stood at 1764 Punjab Pollution Control Board PPCB data showedThe sharp drop comes amid delayed paddy harvest as rains lashed the state until the first week of October Damage caused by the floods in Punjab also delayed crop harvest at some placesOfficials say stricter field monitoring and awareness campaigns telling farmers about the ill effects of stubble burning have also had an impactAccording to the PPCB data the total area under paddy cultivation in Punjab this year is 3172 lakh hectares Till October 21 3284 per cent of this had been harvestedIn Tarn Taran district 6795 per cent of the area under paddy cultivation has been harvested In Amritsar the figure stands at 70 per cent These two districts have reported the majority of the farm firesIn Barnala 810 per cent of the area under paddy cultivation has been harvested followed by 8 per cent in Moga and 17 per cent in SangrurOf the total farm fires Tarn Taran reported 136 Amritsar 120 Ferozepur 41 Patiala 27 Gurdaspur 16 and Sangrur 14 according to the dataThe number of stubble burning incidents in the state stood at 116 on October 11 and went up to 415 over the last 12 daysAs crop harvest picks up pace in most districts and farmers get their fields ready for sowing wheat in the days to come it remains to be seen if this number will increase furtherAccording to the PPCB fines worth Rs 940 lakh in the form of environmental compensation have been imposed in 189 cases of stubble burning so far Of the total amount Rs 625 lakh has been recoveredAdditionally 170 FIRs including 61 in Tarn Taran and 50 in Amritsar have been registered over stubble burning incidentsThe cases have been registered under Section 223 disobedience of orders promulgated by a public servant of the Bharatiya Nyaya SanhitaPunjab recorded 10909 farm fires in 2024 and 36663 in 2023 a 70 per cent dropThe number stood at 49922 in 2022 71304 in 2021 76590 in 2020 55210 in 2019 and 50590 in 2018This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever