Punjab: 179 cases of farm fires registered in 24 hours

Punjab: Punjab on Wednesday reported 179 incidents of field fires, with Ferozepur and Sangrur reporting 26 each, taking the total this season to 10,104. Other districts that reported such cases in double digits include Muktsar (20), Tarn Taran (15), Faridkot (14) and Fazilka (10), according to data compiled by the Punjab State Pollution Control Board. “This season has been much better than the last three years and we are hopeful that field fires will come to an end this week as most of the wheat sowing has been completed,” an agriculture department official said.

Meanwhile, senior agriculture department officials claimed that they have been largely successful in reducing field fires. Following a rise in field fire incidents, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had last week issued notices to two deputy commissioners and two senior superintendents of police asking them to file “clarifications” on the issue. According to data compiled by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), till November 13, the state had imposed environmental compensation of Rs 1.30 crore in 3,846 cases, of which Rs 97.47 lakh has been recovered. The data also shows that 4,097 FIRs have been filed and 3,842 red entries have been made in the land records of the guilty farmers.