Punjab farmers deny getting help from govt, continue to burn stubble

Despite efforts by Amarinder Singh led Punjab government, farmers in the state continue to defy the ban on residue crop burning by setting ablaze their agricultural land.

On Sunday, a couple of farmers residing near Amritsar city burnt stubble citing they lack an alternative. They also claimed that so far no help has been provided to them by the governments.

The farmers also slammed the local authorities for putting the blame on them for causing air pollution in nearby regions such as Gurugram and Delhi.

"The pollution generated from factories are harmful but the smoke generated from burning stubble does not affect the health. Stubble burning only contributes to 7 to 8 per cent of air pollution, rest is caused by factories. The government must come forward and help us, then we will also encourage fellow farmers not to practice stubble burning," said Sarabjit Singh, a farmer.

Narrating his ordeal, another farmer Karaz Singh, said that so far no government help has reached them and they are forced to burn stubble each year. "No help has been provided by the government to us. We are unnecessarily being blamed for causing pollution. This is not right," he said.

It is believed that the smoke generated from the stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana are responsible for the spike of air pollution in Delhi and its adjoining regions.

Last month, NASA satellite images also recorded several incidents of farm fires across Haryana and Punjab, indicating that the stubble burning season had started in the two states.