In Haryana, 892 straw burning cases crop up in fortnight

Karnal: Amid the state government’s varied efforts to curb stubble burning , as many as 122 paddy crop fires were reported in the district on Monday.

Moreover, 892 active fire locations (AFLs) were reported across the state between September 25 to October 14 this year.

This season, the highest number of cases were reported in Karnal at 292, followed by Kaithal (200), Kurukshetra (190), Fatehabad (51), Jind (39), Ambala (28), Yamunanagar (25) and Hisar (12).

The data revealed that crop fires were on the rise in these districts.

No case of active fire locations has been reported in Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Gurgaon, Nuh, Rohtak, and Rewari. The remaining districts have one or two cases of stubble burning.

According to the data, 51 FIRs were filed until October 15 in Karnal for violating the prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of the CrPC banning burning of crop stubble.

The rise in the number of stubble burning cases is also affecting the air quality in the state. The fire incidents in fields have increased pollution levels in Karnal, whose air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 343 (very poor category) on Tuesday. The AQI of Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad were 270, 240 and 293 respectively — much better than Karnal.

As per the sources, the number of eye, skin and asthma patients in district hospitals has also gone up.

“We have identified 211 AFLs in the district. As many as 51 FIRs have been registered against the violators. We have constituted several teams to keep an eye on stubble burning incidents,” said Sunil Bazad, sub-divisional officer, agriculture department, Karnal.

District

Fire incidents

Air Quality Index

Karnal

292

343

Kurukshetra

190

290

Kaithal

200

171

Fatehabad

51

138

Jind

39

257

Ambala

28

230

Yamunanagar

25

304

Hisar

12

257

Panipat

7

336