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Journalism of Courage
At a time when stubble fires are being reported from across all districts of Punjab, Pathankot is the only district in the state where no stubble fires were recorded in the past 40 days since the farm fire season began from September 15.
The toxic gas present in the smoke produced during paddy stubble burning is extremely dangerous for humans, animals and plants.
The DC said that 28,500 hectares are under paddy, especially basmati, in Pathankot district and from this approximately 1.40 lakh tonne of paddy straw is generated.
He added that instead of burning this straw, most of the farmers in Pathankot are selling paddy straw to cattle breeders.
He added that even last year, only six farm fires were recorded from the district, which was the least and this time the goal is to make Pathankot a pollution-free district of North India.
The air quality index (AQI) was measured at 92 in Pathankot on Diwali night, which was the lowest in Punjab, the DC said, adding that this was possible because of the cooperation of farmers.
He added that till 2021, farmers in the district had 81 machines for handling stubble and now the number will go up as 201 individual machines have been added and 32 more machines will be provided to the panchayats and the permission for that has already been given. Machines such as super seeder, zero drills, reaper and happy seeder etc. are being provided on subsidy.
Apart from this, programmes under Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme are being organised under which 70 farmer awareness camps, with farmers from five villages in each camp, would be held in the district.
In 48 such camps, farmers were educated about the benefits of managing paddy straw. “It’s been a continuous campaign for the past 40 days on a mobile van,” the DC said, adding that to make schoolchildren aware of the damage caused by stubble burning, essay, painting and poetry and singing competitions are also being conducted in 18 schools. As many as 300 slogans related to straw conservation have been written on the walls of the villages.
“So far, 5,798 cases of stubble burning have been reported in the state. A YouTube channel of the district “Meri Kheti Mera Maan” (My Agriculture is my Pride) plays a big role in creating awareness through its already uploaded 127 videos related to various technologies of stubble management. Nearly 64,896 people, mostly farmers, have viewed it,” the DC said.
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