Scores of farmers arrested over polluting fires
Haryana states — with many started at night to try and avoid detection.
A senior Punjab police officer said more than 17,000 farm fires had been reported in the state in the past three days, with 4,741 on Wednesday alone.
“More than 84 people have been arrested for violating the law. Cases have been filed against 174 farmers,” the officer told AFP.
Punjab and Haryana make up a key agricultural region that produces nearly 18 million tonnes of rice each year.
This, in turn, creates nearly 20 million tonnes of crop stubble — most of which is burnt.
Authorities said more than 48,000 farm fires had been reported in the two states since late September — a dramatic
■ increase from 30,000 cases in 2018.
The Supreme Court ordered a complete stop to the fires on
Monday and on Wednesday slammed local governments for not taking action, instructing them to pay hard-up farmers to stop burning the stubble. “You just want to sit in your ivory towers and rule. You are not bothered and are letting the people die,” said Justice Arun Mishra.
Premature deaths
Pollution levels in the Indian capital remained bad yesterday, four days after one of its worst pollution attacks in several years during, which schools were closed and a public health emergency declared.
Dirty air causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in Indian cities each year, according to medical studies.
Tiny particles from the fires, which can enter the bloodstream and penetrate the lungs and heart, get blown over New Delhi.