Farmers continue to burn paddy straw in Punjab, Haryana

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana continue to burn paddy stubble in their fields ignoring warnings by state authorities, thus posing health-related risks and adversely affecting soil health.
Both the Punjab and the Haryana government have imposed a ban on burning paddy residue which could lead to prosecution of erring farmers.
However, reports from various parts of the two states suggest farmers still burn paddy straw despite being asked time and again to shun this practice and providing subsidy on farm implements like happy seeder, rotavators, straw reapers for managing straw in sustainable manner.
"Farmers, especially the small ones still prefer to burn paddy stubble rather than using solutions like happy seeders as they think it involves spending money," Punjab Commissioner of Agriculture, B S Sidhu said today.

Burning of paddy residue causes air pollution, smog and also poses serious threat to human lives by way of creating medical problems such as breathing trouble, allergies and asthma attacks.
The problem of crop residue burning assumes significance as a whopping 22 million tonne of paddy residue is being disposed of every year by this process, farming experts said.

Stubble burning causes emission of smoke and toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and nitrous oxide. It also leads to poor soil health by eliminating essential nutrients, they said.
It is estimated that burning of one tonne of rice straw accounts for loss of 5.5 kg nitrogen, 2.3 kg phosphorus, 25 kg potassium and 1.2 kg sulphur.

"It is the duty of the Pollution Control Department to take action against farmers who burn paddy straw," Punjab Agriculture Director Gurdial Singh said.