Punjab on Friday recorded 587 cases of farm fire across the state. The total number of farm fires during the paddy procurement season from September 15 to November 1 now stands at 3,357 cases, according to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.
Sangrur district reported 79 cases, Ferozepur saw 70 farm fire cases, Tarn Taran 59, Amritsar 40, Bathinda 34, Kapurthala 43, Mansa 47 and Patiala 40. Fazilka, Rupnagar and Pathankot reported an incident each of farm fire.
The previous highest farm fire cases reported on a single day in the current season was on Thursday at 484. That day, Sangrur district reporting a maximum of 89 cases followed by Ferozepur with 65 cases and Mansa with 40 cases.
Notably, there has been a steep jump in farm fire incidents during the past few days.
Stubble burning is blamed for the high levels of pollution in Delhi in October and November.
Farmers often burn their field to clear off the crop residue quickly as the rabi crop season shortly after the paddy harvesting season ends.
With over 31 lakh hectares of paddy area, Punjab produces around 180-200 lakh tonne of paddy straw every year.
Punjab recorded a total of 36,663 farm fires in 2023. The state recorded 49,922 fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018 with many districts including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar witnessing large number of stubble burning incidents.
The Aam Aadmi Party, has however blamed bursting of Diwali crackers for the rise in pollution in the city even though there was a ban on firecrackers in the national capital.
BJP slams cracker ban
The BJP accused AAP of offending Hindu sentiments by banning crackers. The party's Delhi suggested that the primary causes of pollution were stubble burning and dust.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that in 2022 and 2023, the AQI recorded on the morning after Diwali was lower than the previous day.
"Despite this, under Kejriwal's direction, the govt has been running a vigorous anti-firecracker campaign for the past month and imposed a ban on it, which was ignored," Sachdeva said.
"When Delhi residents woke up this morning, the air quality was better than usual and it was recorded lower than yesterday between 4am to 9am," he added.
The Delhi BJP president said that the primary reasons for winter air pollution in the city were stubble burning in Punjab and uncontrolled dust. He alleged that the dust from vehicle traffic on Delhi's broken roads had a "far greater impact" than the firecrackers burst on a single night.
Sachdeva noted that at 4 am on November 1, the AQI was 359, which marginally increased to 363 at 8 am, while it was recorded at 365 and 370, respectively, during the same time on October 31. Sachdeva demanded that Kejriwal, Chief Minister Atishi, and environment minister Gopal Rai should apologise for "defaming the Sanatan tradition of firecrackers".
Leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly, Vijender Gupta said, "If all roads were properly maintained and cleanliness managed effectively, the pollution would reduce by 50%."
BJP's South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, "Delhi govt has not taken concrete steps to check major sources of pollution such as dust, vehicular emission because of the poor public transport and the open burning of waste," Bidhuri said.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said, "CM Atishi and environment minister Gopal Rai can blame the spike in firecracker bursting for hazardous air, but the real causes are dust from broken roads and vehicular pollution."
(With TOI inputs)
Sangrur district reported 79 cases, Ferozepur saw 70 farm fire cases, Tarn Taran 59, Amritsar 40, Bathinda 34, Kapurthala 43, Mansa 47 and Patiala 40. Fazilka, Rupnagar and Pathankot reported an incident each of farm fire.
The previous highest farm fire cases reported on a single day in the current season was on Thursday at 484. That day, Sangrur district reporting a maximum of 89 cases followed by Ferozepur with 65 cases and Mansa with 40 cases.
Notably, there has been a steep jump in farm fire incidents during the past few days.
Stubble burning is blamed for the high levels of pollution in Delhi in October and November.
Farmers often burn their field to clear off the crop residue quickly as the rabi crop season shortly after the paddy harvesting season ends.
With over 31 lakh hectares of paddy area, Punjab produces around 180-200 lakh tonne of paddy straw every year.
Punjab recorded a total of 36,663 farm fires in 2023. The state recorded 49,922 fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018 with many districts including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar witnessing large number of stubble burning incidents.
The Aam Aadmi Party, has however blamed bursting of Diwali crackers for the rise in pollution in the city even though there was a ban on firecrackers in the national capital.
BJP slams cracker ban
The BJP accused AAP of offending Hindu sentiments by banning crackers. The party's Delhi suggested that the primary causes of pollution were stubble burning and dust.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that in 2022 and 2023, the AQI recorded on the morning after Diwali was lower than the previous day.
"Despite this, under Kejriwal's direction, the govt has been running a vigorous anti-firecracker campaign for the past month and imposed a ban on it, which was ignored," Sachdeva said.
"When Delhi residents woke up this morning, the air quality was better than usual and it was recorded lower than yesterday between 4am to 9am," he added.
The Delhi BJP president said that the primary reasons for winter air pollution in the city were stubble burning in Punjab and uncontrolled dust. He alleged that the dust from vehicle traffic on Delhi's broken roads had a "far greater impact" than the firecrackers burst on a single night.
Sachdeva noted that at 4 am on November 1, the AQI was 359, which marginally increased to 363 at 8 am, while it was recorded at 365 and 370, respectively, during the same time on October 31. Sachdeva demanded that Kejriwal, Chief Minister Atishi, and environment minister Gopal Rai should apologise for "defaming the Sanatan tradition of firecrackers".
Leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly, Vijender Gupta said, "If all roads were properly maintained and cleanliness managed effectively, the pollution would reduce by 50%."
BJP's South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, "Delhi govt has not taken concrete steps to check major sources of pollution such as dust, vehicular emission because of the poor public transport and the open burning of waste," Bidhuri said.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said, "CM Atishi and environment minister Gopal Rai can blame the spike in firecracker bursting for hazardous air, but the real causes are dust from broken roads and vehicular pollution."
(With TOI inputs)
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