Despite prohibitory orders and awareness programmes on air pollution caused by burning of harvested paddy plants (stubble), a section of farmers are behaving in the most irresponsible manner. They are setting fire to the stubble at night causing air pollution leading to health complications in surrounding villages. Presently, farmers are using a harvester machine, which leaves the stubble in the farm.
The farmers, in a hurry to sow potato seeds, burn the stubble to clear the land. Burning of stubble not only harms the atmosphere but also destroys the natural fertility of the soil. At night one can see stubble burning in acres after acres of agricultural land in the Arambagh sub division, Dhaniakhali, Tarakeswar, Haripal, Jangipara,Singur.
The columns of thick smoke come in contact with the fog to form a thick blanket of smog very near to the surface area. Villagers affected by the smog are coming up with respiratory distress. The presence of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the smoke is causing respiratory diseases, breathing problems, recurring cough asthmatic attacks have become common in every household.
The farmers are not ready to further invest to engage agricultural labourers to clear off the agricultural land hence they commit the offence. Experts say the adverse effects of crop residue burning include the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contributes to the global warming, increased levels of particulate matter (PM) and smog that cause health hazards, loss of biodiversity of agricultural lands, and the deterioration of soil fertility
A villager, who is a botany student in college, said, “There is no doubt that the induction of mechanical harvesters has come as a boon to the paddy cultivators. It’s economical and time saving but the mechanical harvester leaves back chopped hay that the farmers have to clear. The agriculture department should come forward to teach farmers the reuse of the stubble. They should be taught to dump them in a pit to decompose it to make compost.