"Defamed Under A Conspiracy," Says Punjab Farmers On Delhi Air Pollution
Farm leaders in Punjab said on Tuesday that they were being targeted and denigrated needlessly for air pollution in Delhi. They claimed that industries, vehicles and the construction sector are the three key sources of pollution in the national capital and not crop burning.
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the factors behind rise in pollution levels in Delhi in October and November every year. As the air quality dripped low in Delhi, the AAP and the BJP blamed crop burning in the states ruled by the other for the pollution.
On Monday, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed that most stubble burning instances are identified in the BJP ruled Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, while on the other hand, Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal attacked Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government for the paddy straw burning in the state.
Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan asked on Tuesday how smoke from stubble burning in Punjab could result in air pollution in Delhi alone and not in Jalandhar, Amritsar and other districts of the state. “Where farm fires are taking place, the air quality is good. “How is it causing pollution 300 km away in Delhi?,” quotes ET as Mr Kokrikalan saying. He also stated that “farmers of Punjab are being defamed under a conspiracy.”
Paddy farmers in Punjab continue to set crop residue burning to clear their fields to sow wheat crops. Small scale farmers has no option but to burn crop residues before sowing for the next crop. The big machined for crop residue management could only by big scale farmers, they added.
Instead of taking action against the farmers, especially small ones, BKU (Dakunda) president Buta Singh Burjgill claimed that the government should provide machines or other solutions for crop residue management to them.
From September 15 to November 6, the state recorded a total of 19,463 farm fires incidents which is 35 per cent less than the last year”s count in the same period. On Monday, Punjab reported 2,060 stubble burning cases.
