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SANETA, India: The smog crisis in Delhi headed for a new toxic peak on Saturday (October 24), but farmers refuse to stop burning stubble, which is widely attributed to poisonous clouds engulfing the Indian capital. .
Air pollution in parts of the city reached “severe” levels on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump described Indian air as “dirty,” and watchdog agencies warned it would get worse in the next two days due to lack of wind.
Teams in states around Delhi, home to some 20 million people, are hunting down illegal stubble burners, even driving on rural roads at night when most fires start.
In the past month, some 1,265 farmers were fined in Punjab alone, according to senior pollution officer Krunesh Garg, but satellite detectors have recorded more than 12,000 fires in the state.
Due to the position and weather pattern of Delhi, every winter the city is suffocated by deadly smog. (AFP / Money SHARMA)
In an attempt to intensify the campaign, the government is offering subsidized machines to clear rice fields, and farmers who are caught starting fires are blocked from obtaining bank loans.
But the dense gray clouds of smoke that carry deadly particles to the world’s most polluted capital can still be seen everywhere.
Due to the position and weather pattern of Delhi, every winter the city is suffocated by deadly smog.
Farmers like Paramjeet Singh say they understand residents’ health concerns, but consider burning stubble to be a “necessary evil” in the race to clear fields for fresh crops.
POLLUTION CLOUDS
“Smoke is also bad for our eyes and lungs, but we don’t have the money to buy machines that can clean up harvest residues,” Singh told AFP in the village of Saneta, about 230 kilometers northwest of Delhi, in the state of Punjab.
“And why go after only farmers? There are so many polluting industries in Delhi and Punjab, but they only blame us,” said the 42-year-old.
READ: Doctors in Delhi see increase in respiratory problems amid COVID-19 and pollution
According to state air quality monitors, smoke from agricultural fires accounted for 56% of Delhi’s pollution in 2018 and 44% last year.
Authorities say the ratio has fallen further this year, but not enough to ease the crisis in Delhi.
Some experts say that the deterioration of smog is due to the number of cars on the roads, construction and industry in the city.
According to state air quality monitors, smoke from agricultural fires accounted for 56% of Delhi’s pollution in 2018 and 44% in 2019 (AFP / Money SHARMA).
Delhi’s Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal has declared a “war on pollution” by putting up billboards throughout the city, while activists with posters urge drivers to turn off their engines when stopping at traffic lights.
But experts say the political will to tackle the pollution is still lacking and the central government and the states of Delhi, Punjab and Harayana cannot agree to tough measures to clean the air.
And this year, farmers, who represent a powerful bloc of voters, are upset by new laws that they fear will allow large private retailers to control prices.
“Yes, we are angry and we don’t care about the government. Many farmers I know burned crop residues mainly to annoy the government,” said Yashpal Singh, a 62-year-old farmer.
“If the farmers wanted to, they could have listened to the government, but they decided not to.”
