300 farmers booked for stubble burning in UP

Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 1 (IANS) Three hundred farmers have been booked for burning stubble in their fields in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district, despite directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).The cases have been registered by revenue officials in villages that include Bilsanda, Neria, Amaria, Puranpur, Seramau, Madhotanda, Jahanabad, Bisalpur and Gajraula.Angry farmers are now taking to the streets to register their protest against the police action.Charanjeet Singh, a local farmer said that the farmers were already suffering due to non-payment of cane dues, low prices of paddy and the paucity of fertiliser, and now they were being harassed in the name of stubble burning.City magistrate Ritu Punia said that the directives of the NGT were being followed and the district administration would not allow stubble burning in the district."We have directed all revenue officials to report cases of stubble burning in the district," he said.
--IANS amita/dpb