Stubble burning causing dense smog on highways
HISAR: As farmers continue to burn paddy stubble on a large scale, the situation on National Highway-9, connecting Delhirohtak-hisar-fatehabad and Sirsa, has become worse for commuters.
On Sunday, the Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC) at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (CCSHAU) spotted more than 600 instances of stubble burning and the data has already been sent to district administration concerned for action against farmers who are burning paddy residue.
More than three accidents were reported on Monday morning owing to smog conditions. In the first case, a truck collided with a private school bus near Gangwa village and three students received minor injuries. The students were shifted to different private hospitals.
Another incident took place near Fatehabad, where a car rammed a parked vehicle. The car driver received minor injuries.
In the third instance, a head constable, identified as Jai Singh Saini, died after he failed to spot a parked truck near village Khasa Mahajan and his bike rammed the truck. Saini was on his way to Fatehabad to report for duty. The body has been sent for a postmortem examination to the local general hospital.
Talking with Hindustan Times, Dr Raj Singh, head of the meteorological and agriculture department, said,
“The main reason behind dense smog is increased moisture in the air. However, smog is good for farmers and they can prepare their land for the next cycle of crop.”
Increase in cases of stubble burning
Head of the department of HARSAC Dr RS Hooda said, “As part of our survey on stubble burning cases, we have noticed that the farmers of Sirsa and Fatehabad are now burning more stubble.
From November 1 to November 5, more than 1,600 fire spots came were reported in Haryana leading to smog.”
“From November 1 to November 5, most of the stubble burning was in Fatehabad district. We have also found that farmers have burnt crop residue at more than 800 points in Fatehabad. We have sent the data to the departments and DC concerned.
Private schools will open one hour late- DC Fatehabad
Deputy commissioner (DC), Fatehabad, Hardeep Singh ordered that in view of smog conditions, private schools in this district will open one hour later than usual. Singh said all schools will now open at 9am instead of 8am and the order will remain effective for the next one week.
The DC has also issued notices to the various village level committees for violation of Section 144.
These committees consist of three officers, ADO, patwari and village secretary and were constituted to curb incidents of stubble burning in villages.