📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Stalinjeet
Agriculture
Punjab’s Fazilka Farmers Cite Waterlogging as Barrier to Stubble Management
✍️ NDTV Top
🗓 05 Nov 2026, 07:53 PM
👁 2
Rising groundwater in Fazilka district has left tractors and balers stuck, prompting farmers to tell the CAQM team that conventional stubble‑clearing methods are unworkable in several villages.
Groundwater levels in Punjab's Fazilka district have risen close to the surface, causing waterlogging across large swathes of paddy fields. The excess moisture has immobilised farm machinery, with several tractors and balers reported stuck in the soggy soil during the post‑harvest period.
Farmers who met a team from the Central Agricultural Quality Management (CAQM) agency said that the prevailing conditions make conventional stubble‑clearing techniques, such as mechanical baling and removal, impractical in a number of villages. They argued that the waterlogged terrain prevents equipment from operating safely and efficiently.
The inability to clear crop residue using standard methods raises concerns about meeting the government's stubble‑management guidelines, which aim to curb air pollution from open burning. Authorities are now being urged to consider alternative solutions, such as adjusted timing for residue removal or the provision of equipment suited to wet conditions.
Farmers who met a team from the Central Agricultural Quality Management (CAQM) agency said that the prevailing conditions make conventional stubble‑clearing techniques, such as mechanical baling and removal, impractical in a number of villages. They argued that the waterlogged terrain prevents equipment from operating safely and efficiently.
The inability to clear crop residue using standard methods raises concerns about meeting the government's stubble‑management guidelines, which aim to curb air pollution from open burning. Authorities are now being urged to consider alternative solutions, such as adjusted timing for residue removal or the provision of equipment suited to wet conditions.