Stubble Burning Cases Zoom 2.4 Times In Punjab Compared To Last Year; Haryana And UP Report Significant Dip

The State of Punjab has emerged accountable for 82 per cent of all stubble burning cases among the three States including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) between 1-23 October this year, reports Times of India.

In total, the aforementioned period recorded 14,326 cases of stubble burning in the three States. Of these, 11,796 took place in Punjab, 1,944 cases in Haryana and 586 in UP. This gains further significance as the total number of such cases in Punjab have surged by an alarming 2.4 times over last year. Last year, during the same period, Punjab had recorded 4,889 cases of stubble burning.

On 23 October alone, the satellites detected as many as 1,471 cases of stubble burning in the three States, of which Punjab accounted for a whopping 86 per cent of all such fires. In total, on 23 October, 1,267 cases were detected in Punjab, while 133 and 71 cases were detected in Haryana and UP respectively.

In Punjab, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur have recorded the highest number of such cases. In Haryana, a high number of such cases were witnessed in Kaithal, Karnal and Kurukshetra.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that Haryana and UP have recorded a significant reduction in the stubble burning incidents this year compares to last year. In case of Haryana, the total number of such cases have fallen 30 per cent, from 2,806 last year to 1,944 this year. In case of UP, the total number of such cases have fallen 33 per cent, from 879 last year to 586 this year.

It should be noted that as on 23 October, against the target of supplying 27,000 machines to farmers to take stubble out of fields, Punjab has distributed only 52 per cent of its target, much lower than Haryana and UP's tally of 70 per cent and 69 per cent respectively. In total, Punjab has distributed 14,000 machines, followed by Haryana's tally of 13,700 and UP's tally of 15,309 machines.