Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f137590896d-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f137590896d-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f137590896d-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav&#039;,
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 6 November, 2012, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-06/pollution/34947868_1_paddy-straw-p-s-rangi-happy-seeder&#039;,
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid..."/>
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                <strong>Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Times of India<br /><img src="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br /><em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br /><br />It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br /><br />More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br /><br />The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br /><br />The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br /><br />Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br /><br />The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br /><br />P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br /><br />But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br /><br />Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br /><br />&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid..."/>
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                <strong>Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Times of India<br /><img src="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br /><em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br /><br />It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br /><br />More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br /><br />The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br /><br />The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br /><br />Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br /><br />The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br /><br />P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br /><br />But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br /><br />Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br /><br />&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 17968,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav&#039;,
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-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 6 November, 2012, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-06/pollution/34947868_1_paddy-straw-p-s-rangi-happy-seeder&#039;,
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Times of India&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp&quot; alt=&quot;agriculture&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;CHANDIGARH: &lt;/em&gt;As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#039;s an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scale of the problem is huge, but the state&#039;s response has been tepid. &amp;quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&amp;quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &amp;quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we&#039;ve issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&amp;quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer&#039;s an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers&#039; Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &amp;quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&amp;quot; says Rangi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&amp;quot; said Rangi. He didn&#039;t comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid..."/>
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                <strong>Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Times of India<br /><img src="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br /><em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br /><br />It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br /><br />More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br /><br />The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br /><br />The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br /><br />Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br /><br />The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br /><br />P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br /><br />But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br /><br />Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br /><br />&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.</div>               </font>
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-The Times of India<br />
<img src="tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br />
<em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br />
<br />
It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br />
<br />
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br />
<br />
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br />
<br />
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br />
<br />
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br />
<br />
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br />
<br />
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br />
<br />
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br />
<br />
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br />
<br />
&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
</div>',
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">-The Times of India<br /><img src="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br /><em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br /><br />It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br /><br />More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br /><br />The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br /><br />The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br /><br />Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br /><br />The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br /><br />P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br /><br />But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br /><br />Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br /><br />&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.</div>',
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	'title' => 'Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav',
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-The Times of India<br />
<img src="tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br />
<em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br />
<br />
It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br />
<br />
More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br />
<br />
The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br />
<br />
The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br />
<br />
Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br />
<br />
The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br />
<br />
P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br />
<br />
But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br />
<br />
Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br />
<br />
&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.
</div>',
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-The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-The Times of India<br /><img src="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Agriculture_2.bmp" alt="agriculture" /><br /><em>CHANDIGARH: </em>As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest.<br /><br />It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking.<br /><br />More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients.<br /><br />The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. &quot;We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters,&quot; says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab.<br /><br />The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. &quot;The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire,&quot; said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh.<br /><br />Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly.<br /><br />The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population.<br /><br />P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. &quot;Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful.<br /><br />But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass,&quot; says Rangi.<br /><br />Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year.<br /><br />&quot;Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages,&quot; said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.</div>'
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Delhi chokes on Punjab smoke -Priya Yadav

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest. It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads ill-health through the region, making its way as far as Delhi and beyond. This year, the smog has been particularly severe in Delhi because of reinforcing factors such as cyclone Nilam, lowerthan-usual temperatures and calm winds. Numbers associated with the burning are staggering and shocking. More than 20 million tonnes of straw is set afire within a fortnight that farmers get to prepare their fields for the wheat crop, filling the air with toxic soot and smoke. An estimated 12 megatonnes of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is released in the air. It causes loss of nitrogen content of soil worth Rs 250 crore. Besides, the soil loses its fertility and farmer-friendly insects and micronutrients. The scale of the problem is huge, but the state's response has been tepid. "We know this is happening. We are trying to create awareness among farmer s about schemes the government is offering through which farmers can earn money for giving away their paddy straw. Action is also being taken by DMs against defaulters," says Rakesh Singh, chief secretary, Punjab. The seriousness of these efforts can be gauged from the fact that while fires have been burning in most fields across the state, just 200 people have been booked for burning stubble so far this year. Last year, 180 cases were registered. "The idea is not to penalize but to regulate. For the first time, we've issued advertisements telling farmers they would be paid Rs 1,200 per acre for their paddy straw. But the window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is narrow and farmers are preferring to put fields on fire," said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Ravinder Singh. Punjab has empowered district magistrates to invoke Section 144, with cases against farmers setting their fields on fire. Once booked for violating Section 144, the Air (Prevention) and Control of Pollution Act, 1981 is slapped on the offender. Experts say it would have been more effective to invoke the act directly. The reason why Punjab has failed to stop farmers from burning stubbles is simple. The state has been unable to give farmer's an alternative. All that has been done is developing a special tractor, and that too in inadequate numbers to cater to the large farmer population. P S Rangi, consultant to Punjab State Farmers' Commission, said the new tractor called Happy Seeder, developed by Punjab Agriculture University with support from the Australian government, is a viable solution. "Happy Seeder, introduced two years ago, has been successful. But it is in excruciatingly short supply. It is a tractor-powered machine that cuts and lifts the rice straw, sows seeds and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. It combines stubblemulching as well as seed and fertilizer drilling operations in a single pass," says Rangi. Punjab has failed in promoting this new technique that is promising a solution to the acute environmental problem. Till last year, there were less than 50 Happy Seeders in Punjab, which have increased to nearly 200 this year. "Punjab needs at least 40,000 Happy Seeders to tackle paddy burning for its over 12,000 villages," said Rangi. He didn't comment on whether all farmers would be able to afford the machine.