18 farmers arrested for strubble burning in Haryana’s Kaithal

Kaithal (Haryana) [India], October 23 (ANI): Amid the ongoing ruckus over rising pollution levels, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bir Bhan on Wednesday informed that the Haryana Police in Kaithal district has arrested 18 farmers till now for stubble burning and cases have been registered against 22 farmers.

This comes after the political parties including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have started accusing each other of not doing enough to manage the pollution levels, especially in the National Capital Territory (NCT) as the air quality index grows ‘very poor’ and crosses 300 mark.

DSP Bhan said that the administration including the agriculture department along with the police are looking out for those indulging in stubble burning and making people aware that it is a crime.

“Till now, 18 farmers have been arrested for stubble burning. Cases have been registered against 22 farmers. A joint team of the agriculture department and the police is patrolling and making people aware with the help of a flag march that stubble burning is a crime,” DSP Bir Bhan said.

Earlier, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai expressed concerns over the rising pollution in the national capital. He said that the winds are moving in the northwest direction which could impact the pollution levels in the NCT due to stubble burning in neighbouring states.

Rai said that he is going to write a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav for the third time to request a meeting so that air pollution can be controlled.

Rai said that he had written to the Union Environment Minister one and a half months ago as well, asking him to call the meeting so that relevant measures could be implemented in Delhi also. “If we do not conduct the meeting now, we will not be able to experiment (with the artificial rain) this time also,” he informed.

He further said that Diesel buses emit a considerable amount of harmful pollutants responsible for respiratory diseases and other health issues.