UP DGP asks police officials to check stubble burning
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Hitesh Chandra Awasthi, has ordered all district police chiefs to take steps to curb the burning of stubble in rural areas and garbage dumps in urban regions.
In a circular issued on Sunday, the DGP has asked officials to levy a fine on those violating the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in this connection.
The circular has been sent to all district police chiefs, deputy inspectors general (DIGs), inspectors general (IGs) and additional directors general (ADG) in field postings amid reports of air pollution increasing to the pre-lockdown levels in the state.
The circular says that all officers should ensure effective enforcement of the Supreme Court guidelines to curb air pollution and improve air quality.
The DGP has said that the main problem in the rural areas was the burning of stubble, largely in western Uttar Pradesh districts, while the burning of garbage in urban areas was a serious issue too.
The DGP has asked the police officers to spread awareness among the public about the impact on air quality. The officials were also directed to engage people from other departments like the local administration, municipal corporations, its other bodies and village Panchayats to sensitise people and ensure proper waste management.
The police officers should ensure that combined harvesting machines should be allowed only along with straw reapers to ensure no stubble is left behind, which is later burnt by farmers to clear the fields, the circular said.
Pollution in Uttar Pradesh has increased to pre-Covid-19 levels as major cities have recorded ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ air quality, as per data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recently.
Major cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Kanpur recorded AQI (Air Quality Index) between 201 and 310 for the first time since the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March.
AQI between 201 and 300 is termed as poor while that between 301 and 499 is termed very poor. Poor or very poor air quality can mean breathing difficulties and can harm human health over a period of time.