As Government says fires surged recently, Punjab’s farm chorus: ‘It’s majboori’

Tuesday, 16 November 2021Newsdesk

On stubble burning, the refrain from Punjab’s farm fields can be summed up in one word: “Majboori (helplessness)”. Here, fields go from yellow to a scorched black in a few minutes — a quick burning that takes its toll on the air overhead and further away, in the national capital where the contentious practice is at the heart of a Supreme Court hearing on air pollution.

New Delhi, 16 November 2021

As per news report of The Indian Express, On Monday, Punjab’s numbers were flagged in an annexure to the Centre’s affidavit in the apex court. The annexure — the minutes of a meeting Sunday of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas —states that in Punjab, “about 42,285 incidences have been reported in last 10 days alone out of a cumulative fire count of 62,863 till November 13, 2021, during this season”. On the ground, The Indian Express travelled across Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala and Bathinda, the state’s southern districts near Delhi, where farmers pointed to a mix of factors that have forced them to reach for the matchstick — from expensive alternatives to a shrinking harvest window.

Source - The Indian Express