In Punjabs Bathinda district, a group of farmers sparked controversy after allegedly forcing a government official, who was part of a team to prevent farm fires, to burn the stubble lying in a field on Friday.Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann shares a videoThis incident came to light after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann posted a purported video of the entire incident on his social media account.Taking it to X, the chief minister has strongly condemned this incident and said that an FIR has been lodged in this matter.ਪਿਆਰੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਓ ਆਹ ਕਿਹੜੇ ਰਾਹਾਂ ਤੇ ਤੁਰ ਪਏ .. ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਕਰਮਚਾਰੀ ਪਰਾਲ਼ੀ ਨਾ ਜਲਾਉਣ ਦਾ ਸੰਦੇਸ਼ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਗਿਆ ਪਰ ਓਸੇ ਤੋਂ ਅੱਗ ਲਗਵਾਈ..ਹਵਾ ਨੂੰ ਗੁਰੂ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਦਾ ਦਰਜਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ .. ਅਸੀਂ ਇਸ ਦਰਜੇ ਨੂੰ ਬਰਬਾਦ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੇ ਹੱਥਾਂ ਚ ਤੀਲੀਆਂ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਅਪਣੇ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਹਿੱਸੇ ਦੀ ਆਕਸੀਜਨ ਨੂੰ ਖਤਮ ਕਰਨ ਲੱਗੇ… pic.twitter.com/JHzshx4fhs— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) November 4, 2023Briefing about the incident, Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gulneet Singh Khurana said that the incident took place under the Nahian Wala police station limits in Mehma Sarja village.What happened in Bathinda which sparked controversy(A team of officials) had gone to Mehma Sarja village to convince the farmers not to burn the stubble. During this, the farmers there called their union and forced our civil administrations officer, Harpreet Singh, to burn that stubble (lying on the field), the police officer said.SSP Khurana said that an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been lodged in the matter.We have registered an FIR in this matter. A total of 7 persons have been named in the FIR and action is being taken against other persons. The farm was owned by Ram Singh. Besides, the other members of the union present at the spot are being identified and raids are being conducted in the matter, the SSP added.What is stubbleNotably, stubble burning is widely prevalent in parts of the agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana. It is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble left after the harvesting of grains like paddy, wheat, etc.Moreover, this process of burning farm residue is also one of the major causes of air pollution in parts of north India, deteriorating the air quality around this time of the year. Combined with vehicular emissions, it adversely affects the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi.
