Punjab farm fires explode, 27% of season’s cases in a day

Bathinda: Punjab and Haryana recorded a sharp spike in crop residue burning on Saturday, reporting their highest single-day counts of the wheat harvesting season and crossing the 2,000 mark. Punjab logged 644 cases and Haryana 476.Saturday's spike alone accounted for nearly 27% of Punjab's total seasonal cases (644 of 2,403) and about 22% of Haryana's tally (476 of 2,185), underscoring the sudden surge.The rise has been particularly steep in Punjab, which reported 2,134 of its total 2,403 cases in the past six days. The state logged 341 cases on May 1, 342 on April 30, 447 on April 29, 135 on April 28 and 225 on April 27. Sangrur remains the worst-affected district with 285 cases till May 2, followed by Ferozepur (275), Bathinda (220), Tarn Taran (218), Mansa (192), Fazilka (174), Muktsar (157), Hoshiarpur (118) and Barnala (112). Enforcement action has also picked up. According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board dashboard, 36 FIRs have been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita till May 1, with Mansa accounting for the highest (15), followed by Bathinda (7), Kapurthala (6), Jalandhar (4), Barnala (3) and Moga (1). Authorities have also made 59 red entries in land records and imposed environmental compensation of Rs 4.15 lakh in 79 cases. While Punjab has surged in recent days, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh continue to account for the bulk of cases this season. On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh reported 410 farm fires and Uttar Pradesh 123. So far, Madhya Pradesh has logged 32,739 cases — over 64% of the national total of 50,903 — followed by Uttar Pradesh (13,501), Punjab (2,403) and Haryana (2,185). MSID:: 130717108 413 |