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Two farmers from Barnala, Punjab die at Tikri protest-site: Protests continue

Farmers-protests

On Thursday, two protesting farmers from Barnala district of Punjab were found dead at the Tikri border. It has been suspected that they might have died due to heart attack. The deceased at the Tikri border-protest site were identified as Rajender Singh and Karam Singh. In the ongoing farmers’ protests, they had been protesting at the Tikri border for a long time. The bodies of the two farmer-protesters have been sent for autopsy.

Also See: Overview of the Farmers’ unions in the protests

Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur are the three prominent protest-sites in ongoing farmers’ protest-movement against the three central farm-laws. Today at various places in the Malwa belt, farmers held protests and blocked roads, raising their voices against the against the erratic power supply.

BKU activists protested outside the power house at Moga. They blocked the Moga-Ludhiana National Highway for several hours. The farmers slammed the state government for not providing the promised eight-hour power supply for paddy transplantation. BKU activists staged a protest at Dagru village as well.

Also Read: Components of the Farm bills 2020- possible impacts on agriculture which is already under the insidious pressure of climate change

A BKU activist, Sukhjinder Singh Khosa alleged, “We are getting just four to five hours of power supply against the promised eight hours.”

Sukhdev Singh Kokri is the general secretary of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan). He said that farmers were being forced to use generators to pump out underground water, increasing the input costs.

He further said that the Congress government has failed to ensure adequate power supply to farmers and domestic consumers. He alleged that governments could not ensure power supply amid a prolonged dry weather spell, making farmers’ lives miserable.

Also Read: Three Ms of ongoing farmers’ movement- Mewat, Meo & Mahapanchayat- their Social & historical impacts

On Thursday, the BKU (Dhakaunda) staged a protest and blocked the Kotkapura-Bathinda road at Jaito. The farmer-organization raised slogans against PSPCL. Farmers blocked the Ludhiana-Bathinda highway, at Mehal Kalan.  Protests were also reported from Binewal, Abohar and Tapa Mandi areas.

Also Read: Farmers’ movement gain steam on the completion of seven months of protests

Protesting farmers were demanding monetary compensation in lieu of the crops damaged due to the shortage of power supply in the region.

Farmers staged a protest at Shooshak village in Ferozepur. They blocked the Ferozepur-Zira road and raised slogans against the government.  Protests were also reported at some places in Faridkot, Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur and Fazilka.

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UP and Punjab can pose a challenge for election commission in 2022

Election in India

Early next year, three states, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, are due to hold elections. In this regard, Election Commission of India has a major challenge. It has to conduct elections in the midst of a pandemic and a possible third wave. Preparations for UP election 2022 have begun among the parties. Preparations like alliance building have begun for Punjab elections as well.

Also Read: Akali dal-BSP alliance chalked up for upcoming Punjab election

The Election Commission needs to start its planning and preparations now.  A repeat of its mistakes during the West Bengal election cannot be afforded now. The election event in West Bengal turned out to be a super-spreader event in the way it was conducted. The election officials, the central forces were allegedly not following the Covid-apt behaviour. Additionally, rallies were conducted tossing away social distancing norms.

Currently, UP has a low vaccination rate. And, it is forecast to be one of the most likely Covid hotspots in India. It may also perhaps be heading for a massive third wave.

There are 200+ million people in UP. Out of them, only 2 percent have so far had both doses of the vaccine. It is a near-impossible task to vaccinate even half of the remaining 98 percent of UP’s population before the elections.

Punjab is ranked as the 6th worst state of India by vaccination rate. It is not far behind UP.

These two states lag behind their target vaccine rates. A closer look into the data makes it clear that we are heading towards a Covid-crisis. The UP vaccination rate is 66 percent below target while Punjab is 47 percent below target. If the poll body does not take precautions, UP and Punjab can lead to super-spreaders causing a huge third wave of Covid19.

Also Read: A peek into by-polls in India-Can there be a way around them?

What election commission can do?

The election commission should not allow large or crowded rallies, which can trigger super-spreading events. That can actualise the fears of a massive third wave of Covid19 where tens of thousands may die.

The poll body may instead allow for street-corner meetings with under 50 people. Following of social distancing and wearing of masks should be made compulsory for such meetings. Courts may coordinate with the poll body to monitor such meetings and rallies with drones. The poll body must penalize any candidate who violates the 50 people limit. This directive must be announced in advance.

Television can be used by the parties to reach out to the voters. Election commission, courts and TRAI can map out a modality where each party can be designated a time-slot where they can place their candidates & manifestos prior to the election. Such a channel can be mandated to be made as a primary channel in any DTH input. And ultimately, the number of counting stations can be increased to address the requirement of social distancing on the day of vote counting and declaration of election result.

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What’s the rumpus between Punjab Congress and Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Congress in Punjab is facing a possible friction between Navjot Singh Sidhu and the present CM of the state. On Sunday, the former minister asserted that he was as much a traditional Congress man as any of his detractors within the party.

Patience of Amritsar-MLA may be wearing thin as the Congress high command looks to pacify the feuding leaders and “suitably accommodate” Navjot Sidhu, as recommended by a party panel ten days ago. In his latest discussion with media channels and national dailies, Sidhu castigated the Punjab CM, talked about his vision and played an artful dodger on his next course of action.

Navjot Singh Sidhu was the minister of Local Government, Tourism and Cultural Affairs in Punjab from March 16, 2017 to July 20, 2019. To end the crisis in the Punjab Congress, the party high command is currently carrying out brainstorming sessions about the permutations and combinations of leaders, locations and profiles. In an ongoing conflict and tussle between Sidhu and CM Capt Amarinder Singh, the former tourism and culture minister of Punjab clarified that he was not eyeing any position in Congress or the state government. Sidhu also pointed out that he was “not a showpiece” which can be used to win elections and then “selfish vested interests can override the interests of Punjab”.

Navjot Sidhu also stated that he was willing to be a Zila parishad member, let alone become PPCC president, if his agenda is followed for Punjab’s development.

Also Read: Akali dal-BSP alliance chalked up for upcoming Punjab election

On a query on reports suggesting that he was keen on the post of PPCC president, Sidhu answered, “There is no truth in these reports. In 17 years of my political career, I have never sought any position. It is nothing but a bid to divert attention from the real issues. I joined the Congress in 2016 on the assurance that my pro-people agenda would be fulfilled. Prashant Kishor met me many times in this regard. The corrupt system controlled by two power families in the state is not allowing any change, but I will not give up.”

Sidhu also stated that there has been a constancy of purpose of his political career to observe and change the system. He alleged that the system in Punjab is being run by two families who are belittling the legislature.

Stressing over his familial ties with Congress, Sidhu stated that his father and mother were Congress leaders. He added that his parents had devoted 42 years of their life to the party. On his disconnect and rift with Punjab Congress, Sidhu added rhetoric, “Who is the CM to slam the door on me? Is he the Congress?” He further commented that he never received a response to any of his tweets on issues such as the sacrilege cases, sand mafia, transport mafia and the big fish involved in the drug trade.

Sidhu clarified that his agenda is to stop the loot of public money. He stated that he is willing to stay behind Punjab-CM if his (Sidhu’s) 13-point agenda is followed and implemented. He further commented that the state government should crush the sand mafia and make the sand cheaper. On Sand mafia, he commented that he has been told that there is no sand mafia, but only transport mafia, as the sands need truck to be transported. Sidhu also suggested, on the “removal of the parity in taxes between the government-run buses and those ‘illegally’ run by the Badals.”

He also alleged that his suggestion on illegal encroachment was ignored. On the issue of drug-menace in Punjab, he said that there was a special task force report. He claimed that Jagdish Bhola was giving statements against Bikram Singh Majithia, with the court saying that there was prima facie evidence against Majithia. But, the system had not even read the report, as alleged by Sidhu.

Also Read: Drug menace- the wider picture – Is there a way out

Sidhu also stated that many red herrings have been thrown about his meeting with party high command, but actually there are no meetings in the upcoming days. He also added that he has received many offers from the party high command, but he has rejected all of them.

Navjot Singh Sidhu stressed that it is not about post, but about a roadmap to resurrect Punjab to its former glory.

The rift between Navjot Sidhu and Capt. Amarinder Singh is significant and particularly problematic for the Congress prior to the assembly election in Punjab due next year.

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Farmers organized street protests at various places in Punjab against lockdown

Farmer unions

Amid rising cases of Covid-19 infection and fatalities, farmers took out protest marches at several places in Punjab on Saturday against the weekend lockdown imposed by the state government. Punjab’s 32 farmer unions, protesting the Central farm laws, had announced to hold street protests against the lockdown in the state and urged shopkeepers to defy the restrictions.

Also See: Overview of the Farmers’ unions in the protests

Among other places in the state, protests by the farmers were taken out in Moga, Patiala, Amritsar, Ajnala.

Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan in Moga said, “We are appealing to shopkeepers to open their shops. We are with them.” He further added, “Lockdown is not a solution to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.”

Also See: An overview of farmers’ protests- role of Charan Singh

Khokrikalan also accused the government of doing nothing to improve the health infrastructure.

Farmers, including women, took out marches in the markets and appealed to shopkeepers and traders through loudspeakers to open their shops. However, the shopkeepers mostly did not keep their shops open. Police personnel in adequate numbers were deployed across the state in the wake of farmers’ protests.

Also Read: Components of the Farm bills 2020- possible impacts on agriculture which is already under the insidious pressure of climate change

In Barnala, the farmers assembled at the city railway station parking and took out a protest march through the markets, while in Sangrur, supporters of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha gathered near the railway station before marching through the town’s markets. Farmers associated with the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) marched from Sangrur grain market to smaller markets.

Also Read: Three Ms of ongoing farmers’ movement- Mewat, Meo & Mahapanchayat- their Social & historical impacts

Balour Singh Channa, the Barnala block chief of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) said, “All farmer and labour unions participated in the protest against lockdown. Though we have been speaking against the lockdown since last year, the people of the state are not in a position to face another lockdown and it should be ended. The government should provide health services and recruit doctors to protect people from Covid-19.”

Also Read: Plutocracy is welfare of the rich, for the rich, by the rich at the cost of the poor

Heavy police force was deployed in commercial areas in Patiala asking people to adhere to Covid restrictions.

Jang Singh, a farmer leader, said, “The traders are reluctant to open their shops fearing fines and police cases. We warn the government to stop intimidating shopkeepers.”

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Update on Punjab Municipal election: Farmers’ movement scorches BJP in the municipal elections in Punjab- landslide victory for Congress

Municipal election Punjab

The ruling party in Punjab, Congress, recorded a  landslide victory in the urban local body election, on Wednesday, amidst widespread support in Punjab for farmers protesting against the new farm laws passed by GOI. The party won 1,399 of the 2,165 municipal wards, and six of the eight municipal corporations, with the result of the Mohali Corporation postponed for Thursday.

Hopes of BJP that a good performance in the urban areas would ease some pressure off it on the laws were completely squashed. Having split from long-time ally Akali Dal, it lost even strongholds like Pathankot, Sujanpur, Batala, and Abohar, winning only 49 wards. The Independents, who won from 329 wards, finished second behind the Congress.

The Congress won 1,128 of the 1,815 wards in municipal councils, and 271 of the 350 municipal corporation seats, with the Akali Dal trailing at 252 and 33 respectively, the BJP at 29 and 20, and the AAP at 53 and nine. The remaining went largely to Independents, with the BSP (K) and CPI picking up 13 and 12 wards, respectively.

The polls held on February 14, to eight municipal corporations and 109 municipal councils and nagar-panchayats, were the first elections in the state since the farm-laws were passed.

The results came as a big morale booster for Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, with the elections seen as “semi-finals” for the Assembly polls due early next year. Singh has walked a tightrope over the laws, supporting the farmers while trying to resolve the deadlock over their demands. The CM hailed the results as a validation of his government’s “development-oriented policies and programmes” and a rejection of the Opposition’s “anti-people actions”. “All these parties shamelessly trampled the rights of farmers, with the clear aim of destroying Punjab,” he said, adding that the Akalis’ and AAP’s “crocodile tears” for farmers had failed to fool voters. “With these results, all these parties have got a foretaste of the things to come in the Assembly elections.”

Soon after the results, PPCC president Sunil Kumar Jakhar gave the slogan ‘Captain for 2022’. “He (Amarinder) has proved that he is the only Captain who can steer the ship of the state in turbulent waters,” Jakhar said.

Finance Minister Manpreet Badal tweeted, “History has been made. Bathinda will get a Congress Mayor for the first time in 53 years.” The Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Badal is the sitting MP from Bathinda.

The results showed that the anger against the farm-laws continues to singe the Akali Dal despite it severing its ties with the BJP and giving up a Union Cabinet berth. In a written statement, party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema claimed that the Congress win was due to “State sponsored repression”. The statement added, “It seems the civil machinery and the Punjab Police have won the day for the Congress along with equal help from the State Election Commission(SEC). Nomination papers of more than 500 SAD candidates alone were rejected along with a couple of hundred of other parties.”

AAP MLA and Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema said that the party welcomes the “fatwa” issued by the voters of Punjab, while adding that the results showed the party had significantly increased its base in urban areas, despite contesting its first local body elections in the state.

The Congress holds a majority in 87 of the 109 municipal councils after the results. A congress spokesperson said that it would have control eventually over 102 municipal councils as the Independents in 15 civic bodies were with the Congress.

The Akali Dal retained citadels like Majithia, the backyard of senior party leader Bikram Singh Majithia, but neither the party, nor the AAP or the BJP were able to win a majority in any municipal corporation.

With the Mohali result awaited, the only municipal corporation where the Congress did not get a majority Wednesday was Moga.

The AAP did not win a single ward of the 15 in Bhawanigarh, a part of the constituency of the party’s only MP from Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, and of the 23 in AAP MLA Aman Arora’s Sunam seat. The AAP had sent its Delhi face and Punjab co-incharge Raghav Chadha to campaign. Among the losers was former BJP minister Tikshan Sood’s wife.

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Twenty additional RPSF companies deployed by Railways in view of SKM’s ‘Rail Roko’ call

Rail Roko

The farmers’ movement at the border points of New Delhi is entering the 85th day today. Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, with many others from Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, MP, TN, Kerala, Maharashtra, and others are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The protest started on November 26, 2020. The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm- laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system being retained.

Also See: An overview of Farmers’ protests-role of Charan Singh

Multiple rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmers’ union-leaders have ended in a stalemate. Protesting farmers fear that the new laws will dismantle the MSP system and corporatize farming. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered a stay on the implementation of these contentious laws, hoping it will end the protest. The farm-union leaders have also rejected Centre’s proposal to suspend implementation of the laws for 18 months. On January 26, the protest turned violent when some farmers deviated from a pre-decided route for their Republic Day tractor rally and clashed with police. Some protesters scaled the ramparts of the Red Fort. Several protestors and police personnel were injured in the ensuing clashes. The farmers’ unions also held a ‘chakka jam’ on February 6 where they blocked national and state highways to protest the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites and harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, among other issues.

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SGPC Chief stated that no special invitation to PM Modi for upcoming centenary events

Bibi Jagir Kaur, the SGPC president has said that the apex elected body of Sikhs would not send any special invitation to the PM for the upcoming centenary events, including the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

She said that the PM’s push behind farm bills is the reason no special invitation would be sent. This comes as a collateral development coming in parallel to the farmers’ protests. This can put the central government in discomfort as a few weeks back, the PM had visited a Gurudwara to cajole the farmers away from protests, to no avail.

SGPC usually sends special invites to PM and President on such big occasions. In fact, there was a huge controversy between SGPC and Punjab government on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji over who would host President of India, when he had to attend the event. But, the situation is totally different now.

After a meeting of the interim committee, Bibi Jagir Kaur said: “Anyone can come to attend any religious function of Sikhs. But we will not send any special invitation to PM for any of the upcoming centenary events as PM has stood against farmers over the farm bills. It is hurting farmers.”

“The 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, the ninth Patshah and the 100th anniversary of Sri Nankana Sahib massacre would be celebrated on a grand scale. On the occasion of the centenary of Shaheedi Saka (martyrdom tragedy involving rare valour) of Sri Nankana Sahib, the Shiromani Committee (SGPC) will send a large jatha (batch) to Pakistan, which will include members of the Shiromani Committee and other prominent personalities. A grand event to mark the centenary would be held at Sri Amritsar Sahib, while other events related to martyrs of Sri Nankana Sahib, including Bhai Lashman Singh Dharowali, would be held at their respective places. The 400th birth centenary would be celebrated and soon the outline of the function would be made public,” Bibi Jagir Kaur said.

She added that the interim committee has also decided to organize a grand event at Sri Anandpur Sahib every year in the memory of Baba Jeewan Singh and this event will be held on the day of the arrival of paawan sees (sacred head) of the ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahadur Ji from Delhi to Sri Anandpur Sahib.

Earlier, the SGPC had showered praises on PM Modi for the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor. Last year, a special booklet was even released by the Union government on the occasion of birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to highlight PM’s connect with the Sikh community. The cover page of the booklet had a picture of former SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal conferring ‘Qaumi Seva Award’ to the PM, clicked at the opening ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib corridor at Dera Baba Nanak on November 9, 2019.

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Widows of farmers who died due to debt are gathering at the farmers’ protests stating these black laws will push more farmers into debt

While the PM has stayed away from direct questions from media (read unbiased) and people for more than  six years, the farmers’ protests are gathering steam with numerous heads adding into the protests on a daily basis. The PM is so far from truth and ground reality that he held a meeting with farmers’ group in Kutch for a photo-opportunity and has continuously avoided direct interaction with farmers near Delhi borders which likely scares him. While the PM speaks vacuously about the rights of women, he has seemingly remained oblivious of the fact that many women are gathering in the protests, that too in large numbers.

Many hundreds of Indian women, including many widows of farmers who were believed to have killed themselves over pilling debt, joined the protest against government reforms that farmers say threaten their livelihoods. Farmers have been protesting for nearly a month over the reforms, enacted in September, to deregulate the agriculture sector, allowing farmers to sell to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets.

Small farmers fear that the changes will mean the end of guaranteed minimum prices for their crops and leave them at the mercy of big retailers especially under Ambani and Adani groups.

A widow from Punjab state, 40-year-old Harshdeep Kaur, at one protest site on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi, said, “If these black laws come, more farmers will go deeper into debt.”  She further added, “More mothers and sisters will become widows like me.”

Suicide by struggling farmers has been a problem in India for years. Nearly 10,350 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018, making up almost 8% of all suicides in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Kaur said that her husband committed suicide three years ago after running up debts of 500,000 rupees (nearly $7,000). As she spoke, she held a passport sized photo of him. The reforms, contained in three laws, loosen rules around the sale, pricing, and storage of farm produce. Many experts including Kaushik Basu have opined that the laws have glaring loopholes, and these observations have been avoided by the GOI.

Prime Minister has tried to assure farmers that the changes will bring them new opportunities but few have been convinced. Several rounds of talks between farm union leaders and the government have failed.

“We will keep protesting,” said Gurbax Singh, a farmer union leader at a north Delhi protest site.  The farmers have gathered at various sites around the capital since late last month, blocking traffic and clashing with police, at least in the early days of their action. Singh said that dozens of buses, tractors, and cars were being arranged to bring more women from Punjab, the epicentre of the agitation.

The protesters have occupied several kilometres of a busy main road in western Delhi and other entry points into the capital with their tractors. At a nearby protest site, old farmers lounged in ramshackle shelters beside medical stalls and makeshift kitchens. Kaur said that she and other women were prepared to protest until the laws were repealed. “More women will come,” she said.

It looks like the year which began with a disturbing series of protests due to CAA-NRC which spilled into riots, with the situation getting worsened due to the Covid19 Pandemic, and exacerbated by an overconfident propagandist machine hiding the failures of the GOI, the concluding months are a portrayal of a dystopic situation, especially with the farmers on the ground.

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Singhu and Tikri: Two major protest sites- two different worlds

Singhu and Tikri

The two protest sites: Tikri and Singhu, separated by a physical distance of 4 km, seem to exist in different spaces. If one is flooded with lavish langars and unheard-of dishes, the other is struggling to feed people even basic items.

Two Punjabs are represented at the two sites. One belongs to the landless and the other to the landlord; those coming from fertile land and those from the infertile hinterland.

Singhu seems to have emerged as the centre of the struggle, with the entire leadership of farmers camping amid the attention of national media and most of the langars from Delhi and Punjab being offered there. On the other hand, Tikri, where most of the farmers are from the poorest of the poor districts of Malwa, is managing on its own.

Harinder Kaur Bindu, vice-president of BKU (Ugrahan) said, “Singhu has better connectivity to Delhi and Chandigarh. So, most of the people offering langars and other help prefer that site over Tikri.” She said that most of the farmers at Tikri are poor who come from the Malwa region where landholdings are small. Many are even landless. These are the people among whom the maximum suicides have taken place. HK Bindu also said, “We have given village units responsibility to manage their own langar. From each village, if one team returns, the other starts off with ration.”

If Singhu looks like a picnic spot with langars of desi ghee pinnis to pizzas, foot massagers to roti-making machines, the atmosphere at Tikri seems to be more vibrant and reflective of the midnight documentary film screenings to revolutionary theatre, from raising the issues of landless to food for all.

Rajinder Singh Deep Singhwala, vice-president of Kirti Kisan Union, said that Singhu has become the centre of struggle but other centres are equally important.

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Punjab witnessing rising incidents of stubble burning increasing from 40% to 68% in 4 years- experts suggest use of ex-situ process to tackle stubble

Punjab has recorded an increasing number of incidents of stubble burning this season, the maximum in four years, as indicated in the data released by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. Experts believe that this is a direct fallout of the government’s three new agricultural laws that have been at the centre of protests in the state for months.

The state has recorded 73,883 incidents of burning of stubble between September 21 and November 14, which has been the highest since 2016. Punjab had reported 51,048 stubble burning cases in the corresponding period last year, and 46,559 such incidents in 2018. The number of cases of stubble burning was 43,149 in the state during the same period in 2017.

The share of stubble burning in Delhi’s air pollution rose to 40% this Sunday, the highest so far this season, as per a central government air quality checking office. In Punjab, this year the stubble fires have gone up from 40% to 68% in a long time (since 2017).

Experts have suggested that ex-situ management of stubble must be used, by taking help from the central government, as currently the efforts to tackle stubble are primarily centred on in-situ management.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air quality monitoring mechanism, SAFAR, indicated that 3,216 stubble burning incidents were detected over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand on Saturday.

Consistently, farmers have been criticized for causing a significant contribution to the terrible air pollution in Delhi due to the burning of stubbles in fields. In the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab, they generally resort to the technique during the long stretches of October and November as a modest method of clearing their fields after reaping the harvests. Regardless of a restriction on stubble burning, farmers state that they must choose the option to burn down the harvest residue as they cannot bear the cost of any delay in getting their fields clear prior to planting the following season crop.

What is Safar

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city, by measuring the overall pollution level and the location-specific air quality of the city.

The system is indigenously developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and is operationalized by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
It has a giant true color LED display that gives out real-time air quality index on a 24×7 basis with color-coding (along with 72 hours advance forecast). The ultimate objective of the project is to increase awareness among the general public regarding the air quality in their city so that appropriate mitigation measures and systematic action can be taken up.

It organizes awareness drive by educating the public (prompting self-mitigation). It also helps the policy-makers to develop mitigation strategies keeping in mind the nation’s economic development.

SAFAR is an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi. It monitors all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction, UV radiation, and solar radiation.

Pollutants monitored under SAFAR are PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and Mercury.

The World Meteorological Organization has recognized SAFAR as a prototype activity on the basis of the high-quality control and standards maintained in its implementation. SAFAR system would benefit cost savings to several other sectors like agriculture, aviation, infrastructure, disaster management, tourism, and others which directly or indirectly get affected by air quality and weather.

Present subsidy not enough

Farmer union leaders have said that farmers know the health and environmental hazards of burning stubble, but they are left with no choice. Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakonda) presented the point of desperation of farmers stating, “Farmers burn stubble out of desperation. We know it causes pollution. The first victim is the farmer, who also suffers respiratory diseases because he is the one who lights the fires. But what choice do we have?” Farmers said that they need machines to avoid stubble burning, but they are too expensive and the government subsidy is not enough.

Jagmohan Singh further said, “We need machines, which will cut and sow the seeds (for the next season) faster. We also need bigger tractors. But these machines are expensive. The state government gives them at a subsidized cost. But if the machine costs Rs 4 lakh and the government gives it at Rs 2 lakh, the farmer still has to pay Rs 2 Lakh. Where will that come from?”

Farmers also said that the state government has not given them the compensation as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2019.  Joginder Singh Ugrahan, chief of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) said, “The Supreme Court had said farmers should get Rs 100 per quintal incentive for not burning stubble. But the Punjab government has not released a single rupee to any farmer in a year. Yet now they want to impose penalties on farmers for stubble burning.”

Farmers also pinned the blame on the government for not allowing diversification of crops. Joginder Singh added, “We do not just want to cultivate paddy. We want to diversify and cultivate other crops. Cultivating paddy harms the soil as well as groundwater. It also needs a large amount of pesticides and fertilizers, which affects the soil.”

Ugrahan said that the farmers are bearing the brunt of state government’s failures. Singh also added, “The government has not found fast solutions and the Centre is only interested in imposing fines. Neither of them is trying to understand the farmers’ problems.”

Sustainable solutions being looked at by Government

Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan, had recently said that the government is looking at sustainable solutions to curb stubble burning.

Mahajan also added, “The number of stubble burning incidents is not the best indicator of the situation. We have been looking at the area of the field being burnt. Our intent is to reduce the impact on the environment. For instance, if two small heaps are set on fire and one acre field is set on fire, the number of incidents is more in the first case, but the second case is covering a larger area and causing more harm. So while incidents have increased this year, the area has not increased.”

He also added, “One of the main problems with paddy soil is that it cannot be used as fodder. So we are looking at diversifying into basmati paddy, which can be used as fodder. In addition, we are looking into microbial solutions through microbes that dissolve the stubble and convert it into nutrient for the soil.”

The chief secretary also said that the trials are going on across several thousand acres of land and the government has also developed several projects for the generation of bio-CNG and bio-ethanol from paddy straw.  Vini Mahajan on being asked about the rising instances of stubble burning amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said that the government is working on awareness programmes to stop farmers from burning stubble to protect both human health and environment.