LAHORE: Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo on Saturday said that the department of agriculture Punjab has intensified its actions against the burning of rice straw.

To date, 1,289 incidents of burning rice straw have been reported. A total of 1,700 acres of land have been affected by rice straw burning across the province. As a result, 196 FIRs have been registered against those involved, and fines amounting to over 15 million rupees have been imposed on the offenders, said Sahoo.

He further mentioned that the department has set up 22 anti-smoke squads for providing technical guidance to farmers in rice-growing areas and to take action against those burning crop residues. Of these, 11 anti-smoke squads have been deployed along the motorway.

He added that under the Smog Control Program of the Chief Minister of Punjab, 5,000 super seeders are being provided at a 60% subsidy at a total cost of 5 billion rupees. So far, 1,000 Super Seeders have been distributed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024