Farm fires: 43 more incidents reported, count touches 1,103

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 30

With the Punjab Remote Sensing Center (PRSC) detecting 43 live farm fire events in the district on Monday, the total count of incidents has increased to 1,103. Of all the blocks, Rayya reported a maximum of 10 fire incidents, followed by Attari with eight incidents, Ajnala with seven incidents. Verka block reported only one farm fire incident.

Though the district administration has been imposing environmental compensation on the farmers burning crop residue after harvesting since the beginning of the harvesting field and has so far imposed a fine of over Rs 9 lakh, it has failed to deter farmers. However, from the previous week, the administration has started registering FIRs against the farmers.

As the number of farm fires continues to decrease with each passing day, it is still to be seen if the registration of FIRs would check the burning of crop residue. A total of four farmers have so far been booked for violating the ban on burning of crop residue imposed by the district administration under Section 144 of the CrPC.

It is also to be seen how the farming community, especially unions, react to registration of FIRs against the farmers. Some of them have been advocating that viable alternatives should be found to solve the problem of crop residue management.

Officials of the District Agriculture Department said the rising number of farm fire incidents in the district were due to early start of harvesting. “It is not that farmers are more into burning crop residue in Amritsar. The number of daily farm fires has already gone down as many other districts, especially in the Malwa region, are reporting more cases. The overall number of cases from the district would be less as compared to other districts when the season concludes,” said an official. The official said a slow change was coming and gradually farmers were becoming sensitive.

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