Exclusive: As Delhi Air Worsens, Punjab Farmers Say Stubble Burning Only Option

NDTV spoke to some farmers in Punjab's Mohali on their reasons for continuing stubble burning.

Delhi's bad air days are back and the stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, primarily blamed for the choking air in the national capital, is under the scanner again. As voices in the capital reiterate that the farmers are to be blamed for Delhi's alarming air quality, NDTV spoke to some of them on their reasons for continuing stubble burning.

In Punjab's Mohali district, heaps of stubble can be seen on farmlands as farmers wait for the government to provide machines to manage the crop residue. "We are helpless, the sowing season has begun. By now, our fields should have been ploughed and ready. But the stubble is still here, we cannot run tractors. The government is talking about baler machines, but they are not available in adequate numbers," a farmer said.

Asked about the government's contention that the farmers are burning stubble even after they were provided required equipment, another farmer responded, "Some agriculture officials came to meet us. We asked them to find a solution. Initially, they said they would send machines. Later, they refused and said the machines wouldn't come to our lands because we have small holdings."