📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Dudley Miles
Agriculture
Punjab records nearly 2,800 farm fires as officials intensify crackdown
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 09 Nov 2026, 07:01 AM
👁 6
State authorities reported close to 2,800 farm fires across Punjab, prompting a heightened enforcement response.
State agriculture officials said that nearly 2,800 farm fires have been recorded across Punjab in the latest reporting period, a figure that underscores the persistence of stubble burning after harvest.
The department has responded by increasing field patrols, deploying additional fire‑fighting units and tightening monitoring to deter illegal burning, citing deteriorating air quality and legal violations.
Farmers traditionally resort to burning crop residues to clear fields quickly, a practice that environmental agencies have warned against for years.
Authorities are now urging the agricultural community to adopt alternative residue‑management techniques, such as mulching or mechanised removal, and are planning awareness drives and possible incentives to support a no‑burn approach.
The department has responded by increasing field patrols, deploying additional fire‑fighting units and tightening monitoring to deter illegal burning, citing deteriorating air quality and legal violations.
Farmers traditionally resort to burning crop residues to clear fields quickly, a practice that environmental agencies have warned against for years.
Authorities are now urging the agricultural community to adopt alternative residue‑management techniques, such as mulching or mechanised removal, and are planning awareness drives and possible incentives to support a no‑burn approach.