Smog hits normal life in parts of Punjab, Haryana

Thick smog, mainly caused by stubble burning, continued to envelop parts of Punjab and neighbouring Haryana today affecting normal life.
The MeT Department said the situation was unlikely to improve over the next two days as winds were calm and rains unlikely during the next few days.
The smog even caused fatal accidents at some places in the two states during the past few days.
"The situation is not changing as the winds are calm and no rains are predicted over the next few days, which is resulting in heavy concentration of pollutants in the air," Chandigarh MeT Department, Director, Surinder Paul told PTI.

Data provided by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) said that Air Quality Index of Ludhiana (313), Mandi-Gobindgarh (328) and Amritsar (215) today was "poor" to "very poor".
Over 3,000 cases of stubble-burning have been recorded in Patiala district alone so far by the PPCB through the remote-sensing technique.

"The level of pollutants in the atmosphere at many places in Punjab continues to be quite high," PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu said today.
Pannu said the PPCB continues to make efforts to create awareness among farmers against stubble-burning.
MeT Director Paul said visibility reduced considerably today due to smog at places including in Bathinda, Faridkot, Moga, Ferozepur, Sangrur and Ludhiana in Punjab and at Kaithal, Karnal, Rohtak, Hisar and Bhiwani districts in Haryana.

Reports reaching here said that attendance in schools at many places in Punjab and Haryana had fallen during the past one week.
At many places, traffic on the main roads and highways moved slowly as visibility was low.
In Haryana, the Pollution Control Board has started a statewide campaign to generate awareness among farmers.
State Environment Minister Vipul Goel has appealed to farmers to not burn the crop remains.
Cases have been filed against 227 farmers who were caught by the Pollution Control Board, he said. Apart from this, 454 farmers were also imposed fines for stubble burning.
Many farmers in Haryana and the neighbouring Punjab, however, have continued with the practice, leading to health risks, causing damage to environment and adversely affecting the soil health.

Both the Haryana and Punjab governments have imposed a ban on burning of paddy residue and the erring farmers can also be prosecuted by the authorities.
In the last few years it has been noted that when stubble is burned in the two leading agrarian states, the pollutants enter Delhi, adversely affecting the air quality in the national capital.