the burning truth: as farmers set fire to fields, delhi braces for choking smog1

Haha, India (Reuters)-
A few hours after a mechanized harvester shuttled through the rice fields, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, flames and thick black smoke rose into the twilight sky, and farmers burned residues to prepare for next season\'s planting.
Reuters reporter saw a similar fire last week in the country\'s farming state of Haryana and neighboring Punjab, suggesting that authorities are trying to avoid the next surge in pollution near New Delhi that could fail for weeks
At the end of last year, a large part of Delhi and northern India were shrouded in dangerous toxic smoke, forcing authorities to close schools and ban the use of diesel
Running generators, buildings, garbage and non-garbage burning
Important trucking.
The World Health Organization said earlier this year that India is home to 14 of the world\'s most polluted cities, with Delhi ranking sixth in pollution.
As pollution levels climbed to 12 times the recommended ceiling, the Indian Medical Association announced a public health emergency in the capital last year, with Delhi\'s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal calling the city a \"gas chamber\"
On Friday, he warned that the city could face the same fate this year due to uncontrolled stubble burning.
A spokesman for the federal environment department declined to comment.
A spokesman for the Haryana government could not comment.
Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said the state administration has set up a committee of senior officials to work to ensure a sharp reduction in stubble-killing this year.
He did not elaborate.
An official at the prime minister\'s office declined to comment, and the office is coordinating efforts to reduce pollution in the capital.
When the wind speed drops significantly during the year, the smoke generated by the burning of crops is combined with vehicle and industrial emissions, and the smoke deteriorates.
Fireworks were set off to celebrate the Indian Diwali on October.
Last year, November.
This problem has intensified this year.
After last year\'s crisis, the Indian government introduced measures aimed at curbing crop fires, especially paying up to 80% of certain agricultural equipment, such as straw management systems (SMS)
It is attached to the Harvester and chopped the residue.
The plan is to cover the chopped material with another machine and irrigate it at least twice to break it down.
All of this will be done without any crops being burned down.
The only problem is that Reuters visited six villages in Haryana and Punjab rice and wheat growing areas last week, and 14 farmers said the plan did not work. (
Photo: Prepare to suffocate-tmsnrt. rs/2OnHG61)
They say this is largely due to the fact that subsidies for text messages and covering machines do not cover the cost of equipment and labor.
Burning residues are still much cheaper and easier.
Hardev Singh, 58, said: \"farmers know the impact of burning crop stubble, which is why you will not meet a farmer who really wants to continue this practice, \"He planted rice and wheat in the village of shahajhabur in the Karnal district of Haryana.
But Mr. Singh said the cost of dealing with crop residues was so high that most farmers were forced to fire their crops.
It also takes a lot of time, and farmers don\'t have a lot of time.
After harvesting rice, farmers can grow winter crops such as wheat and rape in a very short period of time, and late sowing means lower production.
Farmers also complain about the lengthy bureaucratic process of demanding machine subsidies.
\"Government officials want us to use expensive machines like SMS, which clearly shows that they are far from reality,\" Sandeep panu said . \", He rented his farm to a small grower in Phulak village, Haryana.
For most farmers, the cost of burning residues does not exceed Rs 2,000 ($27. 20)
Pannu said that despite the government\'s 6,000 subsidy, the cost of using these machines per acre has increased to RS 80%.
The other three farmers standing under the Pannu tree also complained that the price of their products dropped sharply and that the price of diesel continued to rise, widely used in tractors and agricultural equipment.
They say their ability and enthusiasm to solve environmental problems has decreased due to tight incomes.
The information in Haryana and Punjab may upset Prime Minister Modi\'s government, which is actively involved in formulating policies and taking measures to help avoid the recurrence of the dangerous spike in pollution levels last year.
\"The information in the senior office is to take steps to avoid duplication in 2017.
Otherwise, the person in charge will be gone. A senior Indian government official, who declined to be named, said.
Other measures by the authorities to combat air pollution this year include putting sweepers and sprinklers into use, trying to reduce dust in Delhi, and large
The official said that planting seedlings on a large scale will eventually prevent pollution.
\"We will also ensure that no one burns dry leaves, garbage and other solid waste, and we will ensure that all construction sites are covered,\" he said, acknowledging the first two weeks of November, it will be crucial that crop residues burn to their peak.
This is also the time for most Hindu communities in India to celebrate Diwali, traditionally when firecrackers are set off.
Last year, before Diwali, the Supreme Court banned the sale of fireworks in the capital, but many residents bought fireworks in neighboring countries.
If the crop stubble continues to burn, the various steps taken by the authorities may be meaningless.
\"What is happening now is that we are looking at satellite data and we can see a little bit of crop burning that could increase and intensify by the first week of November,\" Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive Director in New Delhibased think-
Tanks in the center of science and environment.
Satellite images from NASA (NASA)of the U. S.
It is confirmed that the two states have started burning.
India government officials said last year Punjab and Haryana state respectively the 40,000 and 25,000 the crops straw burning.
In recent years, the problem of stubble cutting has become more acute, because mechanized harvesters leave more residues than those left by hand-picked crops.
In two relatively prosperous states, the harvester is becoming more and more popular, and the farmers\' lobby groups there are also politically strong.
Although India\'s main environmental court, the National Green Court, has banned the burning of crop residues, the decree has rarely been strengthened.
It may largely depend on whether the wind is as slow as last year.
\"Let\'s have the greatest hope,\" the government official said . \".
\"After taking some steps, we just crossed our fingers.