Air pollution: 'Red notice' issued against Ludhiana farmers for stubble burning

Ludhiana, October 31: With the menace of stubble burning continuing unabated in Punjab, Chief Agriculture Officer, Ludhiana, Amanjit Singh on Monday said 'red notice' had been issued against a section of Ludhiana farmers who were found indulged in it and caused air pollution.   

A fine of Rs 1.92 lakh had also been imposed on these farmers, said Chief Agriculture Officer Amanjit Singh, adding that 658 cases had come to the fore so far. He said teams had been formed to initiate action against farmers found involved in stubble burning.

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Notably, the incidents of stubble burning are increasing in Punjab and have more than doubled in the past few days, As many as 3,696 incidents of farm fires were recorded till October 22.

It comes amid the fact that the districts of Sangrur, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Moga, Muktsar,  Bathinda, Ludhiana, Khanna and Barnala are yet to harvest 50 per cent of paddy.

Amid rising stubble burning cases, air pollution had also increased with air mostly loaded with pollutants, leading to sore throat and irritability in eyes. The maximum number of stubble burning cases have been reported from Tarn Taran district. 

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Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Saravjit Singh recently issued orders suspending four officials for dereliction of duty while dealing with stubble burning cases. Those suspended are Chief Agriculture Officer, Sangrur, Harbans Singh and agriculture officers Satish Kumar from Samana in Patiala district, Harpal Singh from Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran and Bhupinder Singh from Patti in Tarn Taran.