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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Delhi chokes on air pollution: Why blame farmers for burning crops? Here's what government must do -Sumit Chakraborty

Delhi chokes on air pollution: Why blame farmers for burning crops? Here's what government must do -Sumit Chakraborty

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published Published on Nov 8, 2017   modified Modified on Nov 8, 2017
-The Financial Express

Air pollution in Delhi has reached extremely hazardous levels, with grave health consequences. Blame has been pinned on paddy stubble burning in neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab – in fact, it is one of the main causes for the dangerous air quality index levels in the national capital and surrounding areas. This usually happens ahead of the winter season. Stubble burning is essentially a common practice followed by farmers in order to get their fields ready for sowing wheat. After the paddy is harvested, there is very little time for farmers to sow wheat, which makes it an urgent task for farmers. While some alleviating measures have been taken by governments, yet these are never enough as every year Delhi witnesses unusual levels of smog during the months of October and November. This makes it important for the government to diagnose and address the fundamental issues which arm twist the farmers to burn paddy straw every year.

Paddy stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh is a fact, but farmers have no choice. They are compelled to burn paddy stubble in the short time they have. These farmers work on a Paddy-Wheat cycle. Since wheat is a rabi crop, farmers are compelled to harvest paddy and sell it as well as make sure the field is ready for the next round of sowing. This process takes around 15 days. For these farmers, burning the paddy straw is an easy way out. Central and state governments, instead of helping out these farmers, have either coerced them into submission or played a blame-game.

This act of farmers is not defiance. Instead, the burning process is a low-cost straw-disposal method that also reduces the turnaround time for them. However, the resultant smoke travels all the way to the national capital due to the winds. This smoke adds to the already existing suspended particulate matter (SPM) and other things that clogs lungs.

Is it a cost issue? Stubble burning is a process which was started due to combine harvesters, machines that harvest, thresh and clean the crop in one go. The practice takes around 1 hour and Rs 1,000 to 1,500 to cover an acre of paddy. However, if the farmers use a traditional sickle-harvesting and manual threshing-cum-cleaning, they need 10 men working for a whole day. This method costs around Rs 5000. So, combine harvesting becomes a natural choice. But the problem arises when this method leaves behind 15-inch stalks in the fields and they are of no use to the farmers. Therefore, the stalks are burned. If they do not burn, farmers will have to spend more money and time to remove them. This also means late sowing of wheat and eventually hampering the crop growth cycle.

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The Financial Express, 7 November, 2017, http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/delhi-chokes-on-air-pollution-why-blame-farmers-for-burning-crops-heres-what-government-must-do/922802/


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