Over 930 FIRs registered against farmers for burning stubble: Punjab Police

Punjab Police has registered 932 FIRs against farmers for burning crop residue since November 8 while a fine of Rs 167 crore has been imposed in 7405 cases a senior official said on SundayAccording to the Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla red entries were made in the revenue records of 340 farmers for stubble burningHe said concerted efforts by the Punjab Police to prevent stubble burning have yielded significant results as case of farm fire fell drastically in the last two days On Sunday and Saturday the state recorded 740 and 637 farm fire cases respectivelyPaddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November Delhis air quality index stood at 290 at 7 amThe 24hour average AQI of Delhi recorded at 4 pm every day was 319 on Saturday 405 on Friday and 419 on Thursday In many parts of Haryana and Punjab air quality indices remained in very poor and poor categoriesAmid a spike in pollution levels in DelhiNCR the Supreme Court on November 7 directed Punjab Haryana Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to ensure crop residue burning was stopped forthwith saying it cannot let people die due to pollutionThereafter DGP Gaurav Yadav appointed Arpit Shukla the police nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burningIn a statement Shukla said legal action is being initiated against those found burning stubble He exhorted farmers to cooperate and not burn crop residue which will not only lead to the deterioration of the environment but will also affect the health of childrenThe Punjab police chief has also been holding daily meetings with senior officers range officers police commissioners senior superintendents of police and station house officers to review stubble burning cases and issued show cause notices to SSPs of those districts which have witnessed a high stubble burning casesShukla who has been visiting districts to review the groundlevel situation termed this significant downfall in farm fire cases a result of untiring efforts by the police personnel and civil administration officials working at the ground levelAs many as 1072 flying squads comprising police and civil officials have been keeping vigil while senior police officials have been holding meetings with farmer leaders at a district levelAt least 2189 such meetings have been held since November 8This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever