Farmers in Punjab burn stubble, say they lack options, as smog blankets Delhi

The Star

As New Delhi grapples with “severe” air pollution, farmers in Punjab continue burning rice stubble to prepare for the next sowing season.  Farmers say limited access to machinery and financial constraints leave them no choice but to burn, despite knowing the environmental and health impact.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00As the Indian capital New Delhi gasps for breath under a thick layer of smog, hundreds of kilometers away,

00:08farmers in Punjab are setting fire to their paddy fields to clear crop residue.

00:13It is a seasonal practice that continues despite years of government crackdowns.

00:18In Mansa, Punjab, the skies are veiled in an orange haze as smoke billows from burning rice stubble.

00:26The fires mark the start of another sowing season and a recurring environmental crisis that chokes northern India each winter.

00:34Farm fires in Punjab and neighboring Haryana are among the main contributors to New Delhi's hazardous air,

00:41where the air quality index has climbed above 400, categorized as severe.

00:47Despite ongoing bans and public awareness campaigns, government satellite data reveal an increase in stubble burning incidents

00:55since early November. Farmers say they are not burning their fields out of disregard, but out of necessity.

01:02If you are a poor, you cannot find a local worker in Punjab in Punjab.

01:05Do not expect any of us to raise money in the water.

01:06If you are a poor, you can find the people in the water or the water and plant the water.

01:11Now, if you have a certain obligation, you can find the power that has only 100 procedures,

01:16which can only be 155 procedures, cover that is not as possible.

01:22In the small villages, you can find their own funds, they are not there.

01:26local authorities acknowledge the challenge pointing to a combination of

01:39mindset money and machinery gaps so firstly it is about the mindset of the

01:44farmers and they are more or less there are certain farmers who resist the idea

01:50of following the procedure of crop residue management secondly it is also

01:54financial because it involves cost when they have to clear their fields they

01:58read they need money for extra money for that thirdly it is about the gap of

02:03machinery although we've been able to provide a large amount of machinery for

02:07our requirement but still there is always a gap so we progressively we try

02:12continuously we try to fill up that gap and which is going on meanwhile the

02:17Indian government has imposed stricter anti-pollution measures in New Delhi and

02:21surrounding areas as air quality plunged to severe levels this week

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