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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