Farm fires come down by 30% this kharif season in Haryana

Hisar, December 3

The incidents of paddy straw burning have gone down by nearly 30 per cent in the state this year as compared to previous year.

The data compiled by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) at the end of the kharif harvesting season this year revealed that a total of 6,987 incidents of paddy straw burning were reported across the state this year.

The HARSAC captured the active fire locations (AFL) on the basis of the satellite images on a daily basis. Agriculture officials of respective districts then physically verified the AFLs. It has compiled the data from September 15 to November 30. In 2020, there were 9,898 incidents of paddy residue burning reported during this period. There is a considerable decrease as compared to 2016 when 12,769 AFLs were recorded. Amarjeet Singh Maan, Special Secretary, state Agriculture Department, said “We are working with a target to bring farm fires to zero.”— TNS