Punjab: 83 new cases of fire in fields reported

Punjab: On Thursday, 83 incidents of stubble burning were reported across the state. Amritsar reported 17, Tarn Taran 16, Sangrur 12, Patiala (eight) and Ferozepur (eight). With this, the total number of stubble burning incidents has reached 1,295. The observatory had earlier reported two incidents. Officials of the Air Quality Management Commission and State Pollution Control Board raised doubts over the figures. However, data collected from ground staff turned out to be 83. Of the total 1,295 cases, Amritsar topped the list with 417 incidents, followed by Tarn Taran (242) and Patiala (140). During the same period last year, 1,389 incidents of stubble burning were reported in the state.