Patiala: Punjab has witnessed swimming in the number of cases of agricultural fires this year in the first two weeks after the period of harvesting the rice began.
This year, cases in the country have dropped to 237 to 3 October while cases reached 1,045 to 3 October last year.
According to official figures, of the total of 237 cases reported this year so far, Amritsar and Tarn Taran have reported most cases while a number of districts in Punjab have not even reported a casing burning stump so far.
The Punjab remote sensing center recorded 158 cases of burning stumps in Amritsar, 31 cases in Tarn Taran, 11 each in Patiala and Ludhiana, nine in Faridkot, four in Gurdaspur, three cases each in fouzepur and sangrur, and one case in Fazilka.
Malerkotla, SBS Nagar, Ropar, Pathankot, Mansa, Moga, Barnala, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur and Fatehgarh Sahib have not witnessed any case so far.
“In 2019, around 330 cases of agricultural fires were reported until October 3 while last year it was 1,045 while it was 237 cases this year.
The arrival of rice far less than last year in the grain market when the rain in the last week of September has hit harvest,” said PPCB official.
Last year, Punjab witnessed a decrease in the area of 5.22% under agricultural fires than the area which was recorded in 2019 although the number of cases of agricultural fires was much higher.
Last year, 17.95 lakh hectare area in Punjab witnessed combustion, while on the appropriate day in 2019 around 18.94 lakh hectare area witnessed the burning of plant residues in the farm field.
Comparative Studies conducted from September 21 to November 24 during the burning of recorded mounts and a decrease in one hectare lakh area witnessed compared to 2020 and 2019.
Agricultural Fire | Case 2018 | 51703 2019 | 52,790 2020 | 76,590.
Fewer agricultural fires in Punjab in the first two weeks
