-The Indian Express Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been setting fire to their fields after harvesting of paddy since the 1980s. That was since the time combine machines, instead of manual labourers, started being used for harvesting and threshing their grain. Jalandhar, Pune: The problem of air pollution from paddy stubble burning is ultimately about a simple trade-off: between more smoke and less water. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Indian Express The state government maintains that farm fires in Punjab contribute barely over 15 per cent to Delhi’s pollution. But officials in Sangrur admit there are problems, including the slow switch to “expensive” mechanical alternatives to stubble burning. Sangrur: To know why the National Capital is choking, visit Sangrur in Punjab — the district that recorded the highest number of farm fires in a single day this year. One of...

-Down to Earth We are doing too little too late We can’t breathe in Delhi. It is a public health emergency as pollutants in the air have spiked to extremely toxic levels. Officially, the air quality is in the severe+ zone, which means that it is bad for even the healthy, forget about what it will do to our children, aged and the already vulnerable. But what I want to discuss is...

-The Indian Express Stubble management machines, unlike tractors, lie idle for most time, making it an unviable investment “The machine works well, no doubt. But what’s the use if it runs for only 25-30 days and has to be parked in my shed for the rest of the year?” asks Palwinder Singh. The 50-year-old from Sahari village in Gurdaspur district and tehsil has not one, but three Happy Seeders. The first of...