Hindustan – Online

So far this year, around 200 cases of stubble burning have been reported in the district. Most of these cases have been identified through satellite. This time the peasant movement was intensified during the harvesting of paddy. Due to this, the administration kept on explaining to the farmers but kept avoiding action. However, action has been taken at two places including Mohammadi. At the same time, now the Agriculture Department is making the farmers aware not to burn sugarcane leaves in the fields. Deputy Agriculture Director says that all the officers and employees of the department have been instructed to keep making farmers aware. On the one hand, there is pollution due to stubble burning, on ...

The Tribune – Online

THE market forces have found an opportunity in adversity. Paddy straw burning in Punjab is a problem that continues to make farm machine manufacturers richer by crores of rupees. Every year, we get new and costlier machines which are marketed as the ‘ultimate solution’ to dispose of the surplus straw, but the menace persists. This is because all these farm machines have a limitation. Whether it’s a Happy Seeder, Super Seeder or Baler-Raker combination, these can’t cover more than 100 acres in a season, even as Punjab grows paddy on around 77 lakh acres. By this estimate, the state would need 77,000 machines which cost Rs 2-16 lakh. Even if we take the lowest cost ...

ThePrint – Online

North India is once again engulfed by a thick layer of smog as rice stubble burning across Punjab and Haryana continues unabated, contributing to high levels of air pollution in the region. Poor air quality has already spurred radical action from the Supreme Court of India, which ordered authorities in New Delhi and nearby cities to shut offices and demanded action to halt crop waste fires. Far from a mere nuisance, pollution from stubble burning poses a serious risk to the health and safety of people. In 2019, 20 per cent of all deaths in the country were attributable to air pollution, costing an estimated 1.36 per cent of GDP. The pandemic has only heightened the ...

Times Now News – Online

In this episode of The Urban Debate, with Tanvi Shukla, we will discuss the Central Government’s decision to decriminalize stubble burning. Amid the increasing air pollution, Agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar announces decriminalization of stubble burning. “The PM said they will form a committee for bringing MSP legal guarantee, but there is no need for it. The way they brought the laws, they can bring an ordinance for it,” says Adit Chaudhary, Farmer Activist & Media Incharge Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan. “When we talk about stubble burning, I would like to understand from our friends from Congress, that what are the other places doing? What are Delhi and Punjab doing about it? Because Haryana ...

Hindustan – Online

At present, removing the stubble i.e. crop waste from the fields or keeping it somewhere else remains the biggest problem. Due to the harvesting of crops by machines, this is a challenge for the stubble farmers. But, now farmers will get freedom from this. Not only this, by making biochar of stubble, making it bio-compost in the fields, it can be used in the fields. Farmers will get complete freedom from stubble burning. By burning this straw or other stubble in the biochar furnace, it will be made bio-compost. By using it in the fields, the fertilizer will also increase. To prepare 12 quintals of biochar for one acre of land, 16 quintals of straw is ...

Jagran – Online

Stubble has been burnt in less area in the state this year as compared to last year. According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), stubble burning was done in 46.09 percent of the total area in 2020, while this year only 26.28 percent of the area has been stubble burning. According to the data received from PPCB, stubble burning was done in a total area of ​​6.86 lakh hectare this year, while in the year 2020 it was 10.20 lakh hectare. PPCB officials are considering it as a big victory. Officials say that even though there is not much difference in the cases of stubble burning compared to last year, but if we talk ...

The Times of India– Online

Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday informed that the Centre has decriminalized stubble burning as per the demand of the farmers’ organizations. This comes ahead of the scheduled tractor march on November 29 towards the Parliament announced by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait. The first day of the winter session of the Parliament will commence on November 29. The government had earlier announced that the bill to repeal the three farm laws will be tabled in the Parliament on the first day of the winter session. “After the announcement of the repeal of the three farm laws, there is no point in continuing farmers’ agitation. I urge farmers to end ...

Amar Ujala – Online

The practice of stubble burning in the fields of different areas of the region is not stopping. Pollution is spreading due to the smoke rising due to stubble burning, but the administrative officers are not seen in action. The fertility of the fields is also decreasing. Knowing everything, the top officials are sitting on their hands. Despite the strictness of the administration in various villages including Pipridih, Bhar, Rakvaredih, Usmanpur, Onhaich, Ahilad of Pardahan block area, farmers are continuously burning paddy straw in the fields indiscriminately. Awareness programs are being run by the Agriculture Department and the local administration to not burn the residue after the harvesting of paddy, But some farmers are not shying ...

Krishi Jagran – Online

The Renewable Gas Association of India (RGAI) was formed to provide solutions for increasing and optimizing renewable gas production and utilization. Subodh Kumar, former Executive Director of Indian Oil and RGAI President, said in response to the signing of the pact, “This will serve as an advocacy voice for the protection, preservation, and promotion of renewable gas to create additional and diverse market demand for renewable gas.” Maninder Singh, General Secretary of the RGAI, stated that they will encourage the production of renewable gas from all feedstocks, using competing and sustainable technologies for all end-use applications. “This will help to scale-up the potential, owing to the abundance of unutilized agricultural feedstock- an estimated 140 million ...

The Statesman – Online

Another winter is upon us and with it once again toxic smog descends across India’s capital. Over the last few weeks, Delhi’s air pollution levels fluctuated between the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories. This is a scenario that repeats every year. Yet the administration fails to put sufficient effort into designing and implementing sustainable solutions. As Delhi’s winter smog worsens, crop stubble burning gets the most blame. However, the rising levels of air pollution in the capital are caused by a number of factors – vehicular emissions, pollution from industry and large-scale construction activities are some of them. All the causes need to be addressed by the government if the city’s air is to become ...

The Times of India – Online

New crop residue burning cases fell again in Punjab on Wednesday, as only 34 fresh incidents were reported in the state. The overall count for the season reached 71,215. In 2020, there were 76,590 crop residue burning cases in the state. Muktsar district recorded just six new cases, the highest during the day in the state. Sangrur has so far recorded 8,002 cases. It is followed by 6,515 in Moga, 6,284 in Ferozepur, 5,814 in Ludhiana and 5,363 in Patiala. The air quality index in most monitored cities of Punjab remained moderate or poor. The AQI was 163 in Amritsar, 272 in Bathinda, 146 in Jalandhar,173in Khanna, 252 in Ludhiana,113in Mandi Gobindgarh, 200 ...

Jagran – Online

Your own loss and everyone is upset but still stubborn farmers are not ready to give up. Yes, you understand right, we are talking about those stories who are not allowing the practice of burning crop residues to end. In sugarcane, wheat and paddy growing areas, the practice of burning the remaining straw, leaves and sugarcane roots in the fields after harvesting has been going on for centuries. The number of farmers cultivating scientifically is very limited, who are avoiding this practice, but the farmers who are cultivating in a conservative way are considering this malpractice as convenient for themselves. But they do not know that due to this the organic carbon of the soil ...

News18 – Online

People in Delhi and nearby regions are having their annual tryst with the deadly winter air pollution, a phenomenon where toxic clouds of smog engulf this region every year around the winter months. Contributing to nearly 30% of winter air pollution in Delhi, stubble burning across the nearby states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh is attributed as one of the major factors for the existence and amplification of air pollution in the region during the winter period. Following a similar pattern as the last five-odd years, NASA recently spotted agricultural fires over the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana through its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite imagery. Other than the continuous occurrence ...

The Times of India – Online

With sowing of the next wheat crop crop beggining in most areas of Punjab, stubble burning too is set to end for the season. Only 66 stubble burning cases were reported in Punjab on Tuesday. With this, the season’s count reached 71,090 stubble burning cases, over 5,000 cases less than the 76,590 incidents reported in 2020. Muktsar district recorded the maximum number of crop residue burning events on Tuesday, at 14. It was followed by 11 cases in Fazilka. These two were the only districts to have reported new cases in double digits. Overall, Sangrur has recorded 7,998 cases so far this season. It is followed by 6,504 in Moga, 6,276 in Ferozepur, ...

The New Indian Express – Online

Crop stubble burning instances in neighbouring states that saw a major spike this season with the numbers going as high as seen in 2016, are on a decline now with the kharif season coming to an end. This time the season has ended late, mainly because of delayed harvest. With farm fires being almost over, the city’s pollution scene is still going to be bad owing to local pollutants and adverse meteorological conditions as cold conditions set in, said experts. As per an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), this year Punjab and Haryana (combined) reported a total of 85,754 farm fires, highest since 2016. While the farm ...

The Times of India – Online

Invest Punjab on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with Punjab State Office-Renewable Gas Association of India (PSO-RGAI) for the promotion of setting up biofuel projects and compressed biogas plants (bio-CNG) in Punjab. RGAI president Subodh Kumar, who was also former executive director, Indian Oil, said, “This will serve as an advocacy voice for the protection, preservation and promotion of renewable gas to create additional and diverse market demand for renewable gas.” Maninder Singh, general secretary, RGAI, said, “We will encourage renewable gas produced from all feedstocks, using competing and sustainable technologies for all end-use applications. This will help scale up the potential primarily due to the abundance of unutilised agriculture feedstock ...

Business Standard – Online

In mid-November, as the National Capital Region (NCR) was once again engulfed in a thick blanket of toxic smog, Sudhir Pandit, a farmer from Panipat in Haryana, debated on whether to spend Rs 2,000 per acre to get his farm cleared of crop stubbles or to simply burn them. He ended up doing the latter. “I have a loan of several lakhs of rupees. Last year, the government promised us Rs 1,000 per acre if we did not grow paddy (the crop that leaves behind the stubble), but I did not get anything. The government’s tall promises of providing decomposer machines and sprays also proved hollow,” says Pandit, his eyes watering from the heat ...

The Indian Express – Online

Punjab has burnt over 43% of the total rice area in the state till November 15 this year, which is 16% less than the area compared to last year in the corresponding period. Even as the state saw a delay in paddy harvest this year, six districts have already burnt between 53% and 60% of the total area under rice cultivation. Incidents of farm fires have also been constant in the state. While Punjab recorded 71,024 fire incidents till November 21 this year, the data stood at 76,592 fires in 2020. In 2019, 2018 and 2017, the number of farm fires was 55,210, 50,590 and 45,384, respectively. According to data procured from Punjab Pollution ...

The Economic Times – Online

Last Monday, GoI informed the Supreme Court that stubble-burning contributes only 4-10% of Delhi’s air pollution and is not a significant source of pollution. But was that assertion correct? The answer depends on how the data is interpreted. If the annual average data is considered, as GoI did in its affidavit, the contribution of stubble-burning amounts to less than 10% and can be regarded as insignificant. However, if we consider the days, weeks and months when stubble is burnt, their contribution is very high. For instance, GoI’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) data shows that on November 7, 48% of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Even as the number of stubble burning cases in Punjab shave touched 71,000-odd, the second-highest figure over the past five years, data with the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) shows that the polluting activity actually occurred on 22% lower area of agricultural land compared to the last year. Till November 15, paddy stubble was burnt in 12.9 lakh hectare of agricultural area; last year, the area where stubble was burnt was 16.5 lakh hectare, so a reduction of 22% has been seen. The PPCB and the state agriculture department claim that reduction in burnt area is result of their efforts to create awareness among farmers, and the machinery provided to them over the past ...

The Times of India – Online

With 283 crop residue burning cases detected in Punjab on Saturday, the total count reached 70,856. Muktsar recorded the maximum crop residue burning events at 53, followed by 50 at Fazilka. All other districts recorded less than 50 stubble burning cases. Overall, Sangrur has recorded 7,991 cases so far, followed by 6,491 at Moga, 6,254 at Ferozepur, 5,794 at Ludhiana, and 5,337 at Patiala. Other districts recorded less than 5,000 cases. Pathankot recorded lowest number of cases at only six. Against 283 stubble burning cases on Saturday, 1,036 burning cases were recorded on November 20 in 2019, and 644 in year 2020. Against 70,856 burning cases till November 20 this year, the ...

The Hans India – Online

“In fact now, the cat is out of the bag, the farmers’ stubble burning contributes to only 4 per cent of the pollution as per the chart. So we are targeting something which is totally insignificant,” a Supreme Court Bench observed on Monday. The apex court was hearing a petition on worsening air pollution in the Delhi NCR region, and sought ’emergent measures’ to immediately control what has become an annual health crisis. Supreme Court’s observation came after the Solicitor General presented an affidavit which had a table showing the share of air pollution from agriculture burning during the winter months to be only 4 per cent. Although no source for the study ...

ThePrint – Online

More than 10 lakh hectares of agricultural land were set aflame in Punjab this harvest season, as farmers rushed to dispose of millions of tonnes of paddy straw before they had to sow their next crop. Unlike wheat straw, paddy stubble cannot be used as fodder because it is high in silica. And as farmers have less than 25 days after the paddy harvest to prepare their fields to sow wheat, they resort to burning this residue. Almost 2 crore metric tonnes of paddy stubble is produced during the harvest in October-November each year. In 2020, the total area under paddy cultivation in Punjab was 31.49 lakh hectares. This season, 67,165 stubble fires had been ...

The Indian Express – Online

With stubble burning cases inching towards the 69,000 mark this year in Punjab, experts are blaming long-duration varieties for rising farm fires and for also taking a huge toll on the state’s ground water. The districts where longer varieties are grown are mostly the ones where more stubble fires are reported. The long varieties provide less time to manage stubble through in-situ and ex-situ methods. Ideally farmers need 20 to 25 days between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing to manage the stubble properly, but with the long varieties this time is reduced to 5 to 10 days. Though the state has decreased the overall area under long duration varieties to just 18 per ...

The Times of India – Online

All hopes that the harvest-stubble burning would decrease after the measures taken to curb it have been belied by satellite imagery data which puts the number of farm fires in Punjab this year between September 1 and November 16 at 74,015, the highest count since 2016 for the period. Data from NASA’s VIIRS-SNPP satellite put the number of fires in 2016 at 84,886 and in the following years at 72,373 in 2020, 40,528 in 2019, 51,998 in 2018 and 46,752 in 2017. The fire count in Haryana shows a similar trend. This year, in the two-and-half months between September 1 and November 16, there were 8,879 stubble fires, the number last year ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The number of fires in farmlands in Punjab this year has surpassed last year’s tally to become the highest since 2016, and taken together with the incidents recorded in Haryana, the instances recorded this month are four times that seen till the end of October. Data from SAFAR, accessed by HT, shows that contribution of farm fires to PM2.5 levels in Delhi has ranged from 6% to 48% in November. On an average basis, this comes to 23% although the contribution of farm fires to Delhi’s PM2.5 levels has come down in the last few days. From November 14 to November 17, its contribution was 12%, 10%, 8% and 6%. The farm fire analysis ...

The Indian Express – Online

Heat from the stubble burning debate was felt in the Supreme Court Wednesday as the Centre attempted to explain why it had stated on the previous date of hearing that the contribution of crop burning to Delhi’s air quality was 4 percent, and the top court stating that it was not misled when it said stubble burning did not appear to be the major cause of air pollution in the national capital. As soon as the bench of Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant assembled, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said: “I have to say something at the outset… I heard some irresponsible and nasty utterances ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The toxic air in Delhi and adjoining areas is a by-product of multiple factors. But the smoke from stubble burning, which travels to Delhi from the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana is an important contributor to pollution levels. In the period from October 20 this year, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration has ranged between 2% on October 24 to as much as 48% on November 7, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Why have governments failed to stop farm fires and their polluting effects? An HT analysis of Punjab’s agricultural statistics show that this will not happen without a holistic re-evaluation of agricultural ...

The Times of India – Online

Even a day after the Union government has admitted that the stubble burning has very less contribution towards the pollution in NCT Delhi, the issue is however alive and continued among the political parties and their leaders in Haryana. While the Haryana BJP President Om Parkash Dhankar categorically said that his paty, worker and leaders will continue to caution the farmers against stubble burning. Here the major question is of saving the fertility of the land. Stubble burning kills and burns the essential which are required for the fertility of land. Hence we shall now intensify this drive and would provide alternate solution to farmers. Rest, Supreme Court decision has now brought ...

DownToEarth – Online

Gursimran is somewhat dejected as he oversees a combine harvesting machine work his paddy fields. “Though the yield is better than what it has been in the past two years, it is still not as much as I used to get earlier,” he said. The 32-year-old farmer has been growing paddy in his over 10 hectare (ha) ancestral land in Mansa district’s Sadda Singhwala village since he completed a civil engineering degree in 2014. Initially, Gursimran cultivated Pusa 44—the most widely sown long-duration paddy variety in Punjab—but decided to shift to the short-duration PR 126 variety in 2019 to increase his income. “The short-duration variety gives me time to grow intermediary crops after harvesting paddy in ...

The Indian Express – Online

Delhi’s air quality returned to the ‘severe’ category Tuesday, though the contribution of farm fires to PM2.5 levels has fallen to around 8%, according to the SAFAR forecasting system. Going by NASA satellite data, the fire count in Punjab this year is the highest since 2016 and has recently surpassed the fire count from last year The cumulative fire count for Punjab till November 16 stood at 74,015, higher than the 72,373 recorded last year, as per data provided by Pawan Gupta, senior scientist, Earth Sciences at the Universities Space Research Association, NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre, USA. The data is from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), an instrument onboard the ...

Firstpost – Online

Evening was coming on; a yellow full moon hung over the Patiala road as a cool breeze swept across the land. All day we had been flanked by green paddy fields, ready for harvest. But things were about to change. As the darkness descended, we saw at a distance, pyre-like fires. We sped up only to discover that the fires extended across swathes of open land, a landscape that was an open oven billowing twisted columns of smoke. This was it, the parali zone, and the flames we were looking at were at least a big part of the reason for the winter season’s extreme pollution in north India. Carefully, I walked into the burning remains ...

The Indian Express – Online

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. 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 ...

Financial Express – Online

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday to take measures like stopping non-essential construction transport, power plants and implementing work from home. A bench, headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, directed the concerned secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab and Delhi to attend the meeting to make their submissions before the committee formed by it. “The affidavit filed by respondents and after hearing we come to the conclusion the major culprits of pollution are construction activity, industry, transport, power and vehicular traffic apart from stubble burning in some parts. Even though some decisions were taken by the Commission for Air Quality Management in the ...

Swarajya – Online

Farm fire incidents in Haryana have seen a substantial increase this year compared to 2020. The affidavit filed by the Centre in the Supreme Court today (15 November) also consists of minutes of the 7th meeting held yesterday (14 November), of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas which revealed these details. So far 5,400 incidents of stubble burning have been reported in Haryana in 2021 till 13 November compared to 3,635 in the corresponding period last year which translates to 48 per cent increase. This when harvest season has been delayed this year due to late monsoon rains lashing the state drenching the crops and farmers had to wait longer to ...

Mint – Online

 In early November, as the national capital was gearing up for its annual encounter with toxic smog, Bhupinder Singh, a farmer from Sangrur, Punjab, had to make a swift decision. He had to decide whether to spend ₹60,000 to remove the paddy stubble, which was left over after the rice harvest on his 15 acres of cropland, or simply set it alight. The matchstick was the obvious choice. “I also care for the environment, but how can I spend more than ₹60,000 in one go?” asks Bhupinder Singh. Apart from the price tag, there was also a practical reason. “These machines (used for crop residue management) need a more powerful tractor than what I own. Plus, diesel is ...

India Today – Online

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Delhi government over its affidavit citing reasons for the rising air pollution in the national capital. The central government, in an affidavit filed before the Apex court, cited a scientific study to say that stubble burning accounts for only 4 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution (PM 2.5) in winters and 7 per cent in summers. Reacting to the affidavit, Justice DY Chandrachud remarked, “In fact, now the cat is out of the bag, the farmers’ stubble burning contributes to 4 per cent of the pollution as per the chart. So we are targeting something which is totally insignificant.” The top court added that ...

The Times Of India – Online

Relieved by data presented in the Supreme Court that highlighted stubble burning in Punjab and its neighbouring state of Haryana contributed to less than 10% air pollution in Delhi, the state government said that area where crop residue was burnt since October has reduced considerably compared to last few years. Punjab recorded 1,761 incidents of crop residue burning on Monday, increasing the total count this season to 67,165 incidents. The state’s agriculture minister, Randeep Singh Nabha said that as per the weekly report from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, the area under paddy stubble burning was 10.34 lakh hectare till November 10, 2021 compared to 15.21 lakh hectare in 2020. He said the colossal ...

The Indian Express – Online

Punjab, which has recorded 65,404 stubble burning cases till Sunday, has reported fewer fires as compared to the same corresponding period last year, when the number was 73,541. However, seven districts of the state have already recorded more fires this year as compared to last year. Still, 2,500 to 3,500 fires are being reported on a daily basis these days while last year, during this time, the number of daily fires had reduced to below 500. In Punjab, the stubble burning will continue at least for a week to 10 days days till the time wheat sowing is not over in the state. On Sunday 2,541 fires were reported in the state. Among ...

Gaon Connection – Online

Wait for 3 pm, the entire sky will turn dark grey as farmers start burning their crop stubble. These days every evening, visibility becomes low, one’s eyes sting constantly and it becomes difficult to breathe,” Raghvir Singh, a farmer based in Sangrur district of Punjab, told Gaon Connection. He was standing in an open field where paddy had just been harvested and its dry residue waited to be set on fire to prepare the land for the next crop of wheat. Over 230 kilometers north-west from Delhi, one would expect the fields to be a little more greener and the skies to be clearer and bluer than the heavily polluted air of the national capital, which ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Former chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday alleged that the government was harassing farmers for burning stubble. Interacting with reporters in Charkhi Dadri after unveiling the statue of former MP late Chandravati, , Hooda said the attitude of the government towards the stubble burning problem has always been negative. “The government should try to solve the problem by making a concrete plan and giving proper resources and financial help to the farmers,” the former CM said. Hooda said he has called a meeting of the Congress legislature party (CLP) on November 16 to discuss the farmers’ and other issues. “The way fertilisers are being distributed in police stations shows ...

Business Satndard – Online

Delhi and its adjoining states are once again reeling from a thick blanket of smog and deadly fumes, forcing the government to shut schools and take emergency measures to control the pollution. The Supreme Court had recently said it has become a fashion to blame the farmers from neighbouring states and their practice of stubble burning for all the pollution in Delhi. The recent data from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute shows that stubble burning incidents this year are considerably lower in most states, except in Haryana, where it has grown by 48.5 per cent between September 15 and November 13. In Punjab, the cumulative number is 21 per cent less than 2020. But, ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Amid the rising levels of pollution in Delhi, stubble burning continues in various parts of Amritsar, with farmers alleging that the government has done nothing in regards to providing machinery and compensation for controlling the burning of stubble. Gopi, a farmer said while talking to ANI, “We are helpless. The government has not provided us with compensation of ₹7,000 and machinery needed to control stubble burning. If we would not burn the stubble, our next crop will be late. Our crops are not being brought at MSP rates. Even the Supreme Court has said that farmers only cannot be blamed for pollution as industries and vehicles cause pollution in Delhi.” Another farmer named Kanwar added, ...

The Indian Wire – Online

Winter is coming, and every single soul in Delhi is worried about the air we continue to breathe. Coupled with the toxic water River Yamuna holds within, life is sustaining with greater difficulty in the capital’s territory and nearby. This happens because of multiple factors working like spiraling-in western disturbances, air pollution through bursting crackers, burning crop residue (parali) etc. in tandem, composing a bigger threat in reality. Consequently, the city’s air quality index (AQI) touches beyond 400 which entails a severe category threat to anyone who takes in the toxic air. The Environment Minister of Delhi has therefore, asked for an “emergency” meeting consisting of states in its vicinity: Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Times of India – Online

Last month, Delhi-based social enterprise Takachar won the new Earthshot Prize for inventing a cheap and portable machine that can convert crop residue into fuel and fertiliser, thereby reducing smoke emissions by up to 98%. Its 30-year-old founderVidyut Mohan spoke to Sunday Times about how technology can help save the planet You studied mechanical engineering and then sustainable technology. What made you focus on the problem of air pollution? While growing up in Delhi, I saw first-hand how pollution affected my friends, family and me. I remember how in 2015-16, the post-Diwali smog was really bad, which made the government start measuring air quality. We learnt that the burning of agricultural waste could ...

The Times of India – Online

Most of the fields along the road to Jalaldiwal village, 42km from Ludhiana, are ashen black, some still smoking. Amid such sombre scenes of farm fires, one runs into a hillock of sunny bales of straw. Tractors loaded with this paddy stubble line up before busy men who unload, pull, push and sort the bales. Dr Harminder Singh Sidhu, a 54-year-old farmer who also runs an agri help centre, inspects the quality of straw and shouts out instructions to his workers. “We are collecting hay bales from over a thousand acres in 33 villages. It will be processed into fodder,” smiles Sidhu. “We have been doing this for five years and encouraging ...

Hindustan Times – Online

In a bid to discourage the practice of stubble burning during the upcoming harvesting season for kharif crops, the Bihar government has decided to “name and shame” violators and has made it mandatory for farmers hiring combine harvestor machines to furnish an affidavit that they would not burn crop residue in their fields, officials familiar with the matter said. On Friday, all district magistrates in the state were given detailed instructions on management of crop residue during the harvesting season ahead of rabi crop by development commissioner Amir Subhani and state’s agriculture secretary N Saravana Kumar. “Stubble burning causes air pollution and soil erosion. This time, we will be strict in our approach towards ...

The New Indian Express – Online

A thick blanket of haze enveloped the city on Friday, as pollution levels soared to the deep end of the ‘severe’ zone – the highest for this season and even worse than the post-Diwali spike. In a review of the worsening air quality, the Central Government’s pollution watchdog has advised people to limit outdoor exposure and reduce private vehicle usage by at least 30 per cent. The advisory has come, as there is no change likely in the current meteorological conditions at least till over the next five days. Low surface winds allowing no dispersion and an increased share of smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states has led to the spike. The ...

The Times of India – Online

Gurpreet Singh, a paddy farmer from pind Jasso Majra 60km from Patiala city, still has a hard day’s work ahead and it’s already past noon — late by farming standards. The remnants of the paddy crop left after harvesting has dried after taking its own time in the lazy November sun. The 54-year-old, second-generation farmer looks up to see smoke rising from other farmsteads, almost like there was a hub of brick kilns in the area. There’s a mixed smell of earth, straw, pollen and ash in the air. Gurpreet calls out to his son Ashpreet, a lean 21-year-old with a stylish hairdo. The father-son duo picks up a blackened iron punjah or ...

Haribhoomi – Online

Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has said that the Central Sector Scheme for the management of crop residues has been launched to control air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region. There have been positive results. He said that due to successful implementation of the scheme, there was a reduction of 64 percent, 52 percent and 23 percent respectively in the number of incidents of burning of paddy residue in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in the year 2020 as compared to the year 2016. Additional Secretary Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi has called upon the farmers to make proper ...

The Statesman – Online

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday asked Union Environment and Forests Minister Bhupender Yadav to call a meeting of the national capital’s neighbouring states over the stubble-burning issue so that necessary steps to secure the life of citizens could be taken. “City of Delhi had entered the ‘severe category zone’ with AQI reaching 404 on November 9. As per meteorological prediction. AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor category’ due to shallow mixing layer height and low wind speed,” he said in a letter to Yadav. “This is an accumulation of pollutants in the air shed. The situation has got worse with stubble burning recorded in the neighbouring NCR states since ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Punjab recorded 55,573 cases of farm fires till Thursday with Patiala topping the chart of the state’s most polluted cities with an air quality index (AQI) of 296 which is bracketed as “poor”. Bathinda was second most polluted city with an AQI of 283, followed by Jalandhar at 271, Khanna and Ludhiana (259), Amritsar (251), and Mandi Gobindgarh at 239, according to data procured from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Ropar was the least polluted with 161 AQI. Sangrur district registered maximum 566 fresh cases of farm fires in the state and Mohali the lowest at six. A Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) official said the AQI will continue to deteriorate in the coming ...

The Times of India – Online

Kaithal has reported the highest number of farm fires in Haryana this season, at 1,066, followed by Fatehabad (938), Karnal (848), Kurukshetra (518), Ambala (267), Yamunanagar (142) and Sirsa (148), according to data from the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC). Districts with small paddy cultivation areas, such as Palwal (101), Panipat (99) and Sonipat (70), have also witnessed stubble-burning incidents. The data indicates 4,753 cases of stubble fires in the state between September 15 and November 10, which is significantly lower than 7,083 recorded in the same period last year — a drop of nearly 33%. However, this could change, said experts. Since rains lingered well into October this time, farm fires ...

Jagran – Online

Incidents of stubble burning are continuing in the district. Many people had already harvested the crop, but had not picked up the stubble from the fields. Now the work of burning that stubble is going on. Where earlier farmers were setting the stubble on fire in distant villages, now the work of setting the stubble on fire in the fields situated on the side of the highway has started. By setting fire to the stubble in the fields located on the right side of the highway, the smoke of the stubble comes on the road, Due to which the risk of accidents has also increased. If we look at the figures of this time, so far 227 cases of stubble burning have ...

Jagran Josh – Online

The Delhi government on November 9, 2021, announced that it will be launching the Anti-Open Burning Campaign from November 11 to December 11, 2021 in Delhi to curb instances of open burning and air pollution in Delhi. The announcement also comes after the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi turned ‘hazardous’ when it touched 503 on the AQI index after Diwali. Meanwhile, 92 construction sites in Delhi were banned on November 6 for violating dust norms.While announcing the Anti-Open Burning Campaign, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai mentioned he has written to the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to call an emergency meeting to deliberate on the issue of stubble burning. Rai also cited incidents of stubble burning between ...

Hindustan Times – Online

As many as 350 incidents of farm fire were reported from several districts of Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours contributing to the worsening air quality in the state. The fires are a reflection of the incidents of stubble burning that continue. Farm fires are a major contributor to air pollution in winter and the effect is palpable in the AQI (air quality index) data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Four Uttar Pradesh cities, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad and Baghpat, recorded severe air pollution with their air quality index (AQI) crossing 401 during the day. The air quality of the state capital also reached near the 300-mark and the average AQI recorded there ...

Scroll – Online

With the onset of winter, a blanket of smog has once again settled over northern India, caused in part by deleterious agricultural practices. Heedless of the environmental outcome of their action, farmers in the region are burning crop stubble in fields to reduce manual drudgery and expedite sowing of winter crops. It is an annual civic tragedy, a reflection of how current farming practices contribute to public health and climate challenges. But there is quiet cause for hope. Over the last couple of years, some farmers near Delhi have opted to sell crop residue so its rich organic content including carbon can be used to enrich soil rather than be released into the atmosphere as a ...

Aaj Tak – Online

A hearing is to be held in the Supreme Court today regarding the polluted air in Delhi-NCR. Every year in this season the air of Delhi gets worse but governments throw rubbish of accusations on each other. The Kejriwal government has once held the stubble burning in neighboring states responsible for Delhi’s stifling air. In such a situation, all eyes are on the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, it is necessary to see the report of our correspondent Aishwarya Paliwal which tells how stubble burning is being done indiscriminately in Punjab. This stubble burning in the fields spoiled the condition of the environment, these days you will see a similar sight in different districts of Punjab. The ...

The Indian Express – Online

While the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has imposed over Rs 56 lakh environmental compensation on farmers for burning stubble this season, the total farm fires in the state crossed the 2019 figure for the corresponding period.The figure, however, is lower than last year. Out of total 47, 409 stubble burning incidents this year, 72 per cent have been recorded in the past nine days from November 1 to November 9. Where 5,079 fires were reported on November 9, from November 1 to November 9, total 34,285 farm fires were reported which comes to 72 per cent of the total fires reported from September 16 to November 9th (55 days).

India TV News – Online

AAP leader and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday said free spraying of bio-decomposer will be ensured in Punjab to curb crop residue burning if his party forms government in the state. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the main opposition party in Punjab, where assembly elections are slated for next year. Farmers cannot be blamed for unrestrained crop residue burning in neighbouring states as it is the governments there which have failed to provide an alternative, Rai said. The share of farm fires in Delhi’s pollution rose to a three-year high of 48 per cent on Sunday, and on Monday, government agencies reported 5,450 farm fires, the highest this season, in neighboring ...

Business Standard – Online

Delhi’s air quality slipped to the “severe” category again on Tuesday with stubble burning accounting for 27 per cent of its PM2.5 pollution, authorities said. Low temperature — Delhi recorded a minimum of 13.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the season’s lowest so far — allowed accumulation of pollutants, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather. The minimum temperature is expected to dip to 10 degrees by November 15, the India Meteorological Department said.

The Indian Express – Online

Condemning the Punjab government for “not providing timely funds” to farmers and agricultural societies to buy subsidised agricultural machinery, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Aman Arora has written to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, demanding immediate release of outstanding subsidy for equipment needed to dispose of paddy stubble. “Farmers and agricultural societies of Punjab had submitted more than 61,000 applications to the Agriculture Department for procurement of various machines for sowing of crops and disposal of crop residues, but these applications have been gathering dust in the offices of the Agriculture Department for a long time. However, the farmers of Punjab are being forced to burn paddy stubble due to lack of machinery,” ...

Business Standard – Online

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has asked farmers to feed stubble to stray cattle instead of burning it in the fields which adds to air pollution in a big way. The state agriculture department has, in fact, proposed funding carriage of stubble to shelter homes meant for stray cattle. Additional chief secretary (agriculture) Devesh Chaturvedi in a letter sent to district authorities, has said that funds would be availed from the state finance commission.

Telegraph India -Online

A panchayat official requests a farmer not to burn paddy stubble in East Burdwan’s Baikanthapur on Monday. Paddy stubble usually takes one-and-a-half months to decompose and farmers are not ready to wait that long. Burning paddy stubble is considered to be a fast and cheap way to prepare fields for the next crop. However, studies have shown that this burning pollutes the air and is considered a major health hazard. Still, stubble burning is not that rampant in Bengal as it is in the country’s northern states.

India TV News – Online

The Kaithal district administration in Haryana filed an FIR against the farmers who burnt stubble on Monday. According to the District Collectorate Pradeep Dahiya, the majority of farmers have stopped burning crop residue but some of them trying to disrupt the environment.

The Economic Times – Online

Stubble burning cases have increased since the last five days in parts of Punjab. While air quality deteriorates in cities across North Indian states, an average of 5000 cases of stubble burning are being reported daily in Punjab. “Total 32,734 fire incidents (stubble burning) were reported in Punjab, out of which 10,836 have been reviewed and around 21,000 will be visited in next 2-3 days. Average fire incidents have increased in past 4-5 days, but are still less by 25% as compared to last year’s average of 45%,” Samita, Environmental Engineer, State Pollution Control Board told ANI.

The Wire – Online

Despite the Union government spending over Rs 2,000 crore to tackle stubble burning over the last four years, the issue continues to smother north India, leading to severe dips in air quality in Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Haryana. In the last four years, a total of Rs 1,050.68 crore was given to Punjab, of which Rs 235 crore was released in the financial year 2021-22; however, the field fires are far from over in the state.

Hindustan Times – Online

While pollution caused by bursting of crackers is yet to subside, the spurt in stubble burning cases is compounding the problem of air pollution in the city. A day after the city reported slight improvement in the air quality index (AQI), it went from 159 points on Saturday to 240 (poor category) on Sunday. As per the national agency tracking air quality, the particulate matter (PM) 2.5, which directly affects the lungs, remained the prominent pollutant. “Due to cold conditions, the earth’s surface cools down rapidly and the air near the ground gets condensed. Because of cold conditions, smoke particles get locked, which is leading to hazy weather. Only western disturbance coupled with rain can ...

Mint – Online

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week met Delhi-based Vidyut Mohan whose prize-winning innovation is expected to drastically cut the national capital’s air pollution, which deteriorates in winter season due to a number of factors including stubble burning. During his visit to Scotland’s Glasgow, the Prime Minister met Mohan, who has co-founded a recycling firm Takachar. In September this year, Takachar was picked for Prince William’s GBP 1 million Earthshot Prize.

Hindustan Times – Online

With the paddy harvest almost 70% complete, the spike in the farm fires is visible in the hinterland of the agrarian state of Punjab, with 3,032 farm fires were reported on the Diwali Day; 55% of total cases of stubble burning this year have been reported in the last five days. The number of farm fires thus far this year, at 23465, is still almost half of 44086 cases reported for the corresponding period (till November 4) last year, but most officials expect it to increase over the coming week. On November 4, 3,032 farm fire events were captured by satellite in Punjab. In 2019, there were 5,953 active fires on the same date and ...

DTE – Online

It is that time of the year again. Incidents of stubble burning in the fields of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have increased in the past few days due to delayed sowing and rains through October. If firecrackers are burst on Diwali and the wind direction from Punjab and Haryana towards Delhi is as predicted by weather agencies, the Air Quality Index (AQI) may turn ‘severe’. According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Metrology (IITM) of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, the AQI has started deteriorating gradually in the major cities of Delhi and the National Capital Region (Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Noida). AQI represents 24-hour average air quality data. The air quality ...

Hindustan Times – Online

As Delhi’s air quality stayed at “severe” category for the second consecutive day on Saturday, emissions from stubble burning accounted for 36 per cent of the pollution share, Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said. In the last 24 hours, SAFAR added, the PM2.5 pollutants’ concentration across the national capital has become higher than in 2020 but “much less than that in 2018.” “However, it may be noted that local winds have picked up since morning and now the fast dispersion is expected,” SAFAR forecasted.

Hindustan Times – Online

Farmers across Punjab have been burning paddy residual despite a ban on stubble burning. Farmers said they are helpless and burn paddy stubble to minimise the cost of production. The farmers claim that the paddy stubble causes only 8% of the total pollution. They, however, accused the state govt of not providing agricultural machinery to control stubble. On Sunday, Punjab reported this harvest season’s highest stubble burning instances. Nearly 28,000 incidents of stubble burning were reported until October 31 last year. Watch this report for more.

The Times Of India – Online

Locals spotted grass burning in New Town once again next to the Silicon Valley plot on Tuesday morning. The New Town Forum and News (NTFN), an umbrella organization of resident forums in New Town, and the Eco Park Police were informed and the news circulated in WhatsApp groups. Cops went to the spot to douse the fire. Last year, local resistance groups were formed in coordination with New Town Kolkata Development Authority and the police to prevent the burning of grass and biomass on open land which had caused a lot of air pollution, leading to the death of many birds in the area.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Paddy stubble poses major challenges in north India. The quantity of the crop straw and stubble is humongous and the window for disposing of it is too small. The article focuses on several existing initiatives and challenges in the management of crop residue for a clean and rejuvenating environment. Stubble burning is intentionally setting fire to the straw that remains after crop harvest. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, and some parts of Uttar Pradesh burn straws of paddy and wheat which has been cited as a major cause of air pollution in Delhi NCR. In late September and October month every year, Punjab and Haryana farmers burnt about 23 million tons of paddy straw in their ...

The Times Of India – Online

Punjab’s first stubble-based bio-CNG plant has started collection of paddy straw from the agricultural fields from its surrounding villages even as the commissioning of the plant is expected for January 2022. The officials at the compressed biogas (CBG) plant at Bhutal Kalan village of Lehragaga in Sangrur have already collected around 10,000 MT of paddy straw for their operations to produce biogas and manure. The plant is one of the largest CBG plants that will produce more than 33 tonnes of CBG or bio-CNG per day and is capable of collecting and utilizing over 1 lakh tonne of paddy residue each year. However, following delay in the harvest this year due to untimely ...

Jagran – Online

The farmers of Yamunanagar are giving priority to the management of crop residues. The figures testify to this. Last year, there were 248 challans for burning stubble. Six lakh 35 thousand rupees were fined. At the same time, this time only 47 challans were done. One lakh 75 thousand fine has been imposed so far. If we talk about the last three years, then this time the challans have been the least. Please tell that there was about 88 thousand hectares in the district. Harvesting has been done on about 82 thousand hectares. In Sadhaura and Bilaspur areas, some areas remain under paddy.

Bhaskar– Online

The officials of the Agriculture Department are working hard to ensure that farmers do not burn crop residues. Through village-to-village camps, farmers are being informed in detail about the damage caused by burning crop residues The farmers who burn crop residues are also being monitored by satellite. Fines are also being imposed. Despite this, all the efforts of the department were not successful. Farmers are burning paddy residue every day. Committees have also been constituted by the administration to ensure that farmers do not burn crop residues. But still the smoke of crop residues can be seen rising in the sky throughout the day. Block Agriculture Officer Dr. Rakesh Aggarwal says that apart from spreading air pollution ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The Delhi-National Capital Region’s luck with clean air — thanks to an intense and prolonged monsoon— seems to be coming to an end. On Sunday, Punjab reported this harvest season’s highest paddy straw burning instances, 2,895 , even as their tally-to-date of 13,124 remained almost half of that in the corresponding period last year, this newspaper reported on Monday. Nearly 28,000 instances of stubble-burning were reported until October 31 in 2020. But there has been a significant spike in the farm fires in the state over the last three days, with daily cases hovering above 1,000. Punjab officials have said that farm fires are likely to increase in the next two weeks when the paddy ...

The Leaflet – Online

N the absence of adequate safeguards for farmers who stopped burning stubble and preferred selling it in the market, the crusaders who once dissuaded them from the pollution-causing practice have themselves readopted it. After strong protests against the heavy penalties (five-year imprisonment and fine up to Rs 1 crore) prescribed against violation of clause 14, including stubble burning, of The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020, the Centre added the following line to the clause: “Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any farmer for causing air pollution by stubble burning or mismanagement of agricultural residue.”