Ballabgarh recorded the worst air in the country on the eve of the Diwali festival.
Of the country’s 19 cities with air quality index (AQI) above 300, categorised in the “very poor” category on Saturday, 10 were from Haryana.
The AQI in Sirsa was 383, followed by Panchgaon at 377, Bahadurgarh at 364, Gurugram at 345, Faridabad at 336, Rohtak at 320, Hisar at 316, Jind at 310, Bhiwani at 307 and Sonepat at 304, according to the daily AQI bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). A total of 95 cases have been reported in the state until Saturday, which is less than half of the 224 cases lodged last season until this date, according to the consolidated report. Kaithal tops the chart with 24 total cases lodged so far, followed by 11 in Kurukshetra, 10 in Palwal and Karnal, 8 in Ambala, 6 in Fatehabad, 5 in Jind, 4 in Yamunanagar, 3 in Sirsa, and 2 each in Sonepat, Panipat and Faridabad, while Panchkula and Rohtak have only one case each, according to the report.
Karnal deputy director of agriculture (DDA) Jaswinder Saini said that an FIR has been filed against four farmers for burning stubble.
“These farmers have also been fined and a red entry has been made in the revenue records, preventing them from availing any future benefits of government schemes. Kurukshetra DDA Girish Nagpal appealed to farmers to avoid burning stubble and instead use in-situ and ex-situ methods for management for which the state government provides a subsidy of ₹ 1,200 per acre.
Nor will they be able to sell their crops at the minimum support price (MSP),” he said.
