Bearing testimony to the failure of the Punjab government in controlling stubble burning, the state has recorded 7,326 incidents wherein wheat straw was burned in fields. According to experts, the number of such incidents is expected to rise till May 26.

As per the data provided by Punjab Remote Sensing Department in Ludhiana, as many as 7,326 incidents of wheat-straw burning were recorded from April 15 to May 19 this year. The maximum number of these incidents was recorded in Amritsar and Sangrur, with 703 each, followed by 605 incidents in Bathinda, 582 in Tarn Taran and 555 incidents in Gurdaspur.

Maximum number of fire incidents in the state was reported on May 12 this season when 1291 such incidents were recorded, with Amritsar recording 233 incidents in a single day.

Dr Anil Sood, head Agro-ecosystems and Crop Modeling (ACM) division at Punjab Remote Sensing Centre said that as of the now – the total figure in this time period (April 15 to May 19) is less than previous year’s with 14,370 incidents in 2017 and 10,727 fire incidents in 2018. But this year due to weather conditions harvesting was delayed. As a result, fire incidents were also reported later.

“This season, maximum incidents were reported on May 12, followed by 973 incidents on May 13, with Tarn Taran recording 184 fire incidents in a single day. The number dipped over the next few days but on May 18 it again rose to 848, with Sangrur recording as many as 100 incidents in a day,” he said.

Dr Sood added that such a season will last till May 26. “The increase or decrease in fire incidents, as compared to the previous years, and why they occurred will be studied once we collect total data,” he said.

When asked as to why no action was taken against erring farmers, the agriculture officers of state agriculture department replied that due to elections everyone was occupied with duties and would resume their work from Tuesday.

Punjab’s Agriculture secretary Kahan Singh Pannu stated that the department has organised awareness campaigns to convince farmers that they shouldn’t burn wheat straw. “But at the same time, I fail to understand why farmers continue to burn straw despite all efforts,” he said, adding that now the department would focus on reducing the incidents of paddy straw burning.

First Published: May 21, 2019 12:10 IST