india

Updated: Nov 03, 2019 23:04 IST

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Uttar Pradesh has said stubble burning by farmers doesn’t really add to pollution and the Yogi Adityanath government should instead attempt to please rain god Indra to tackle the severe air quality in the state as well as in Delhi.

Sunil Bharala, the chairperson of the Labour Welfare Council (Shramik Kalyan Board), gave his suggestions to his own party’s government during an interview to a news agency.

Bharala’s position is equal to that of a cabinet-ranked minister.

“For people like us who are originally farmers, this systematic identification of stubble burning as the main cause of pollution is worrying. I think farmers have been burning stubble for ages,” Bharala said.

“This burning of waste from the crop does create some smoke but it isn’t any threat. It has been a natural system followed by farmers for ages. Instead, we should go back to our ancient system of holding yagnas,” he said.

The Union environment ministry had filed an affidavit in October stating stubble burning is one of the major contributors to bad air quality in Delhi in October and November.

According to an analysis of data from US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), there were 18,162 fires spotted in Punjab and Haryana between October 20 and 30 – significantly higher than the 14,897 seen in the same period last year.

As the opposition slammed Bharala’s inputs, which came barely a day after chief minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with senior officials to discuss ways to combat pollution and advised farmers against stubble burning, he maintained that farm fires didn’t contribute to pollution.

“I agree that pollution is a cause of concern for all of us. But instead of blaming stubble burning by farmers, a yagna should be organised by the government to please Indra,” he said while speaking to HT over the phone.

“This has been a tradition, a time-tested technique since ancient days. And if the gods are pleased, everything would be solved,” he said.

Bharala’s advice also came on a day state capital Lucknow’s air quality index (AQI) zoomed past 400 – the level considered most hazardous. In fact, six cities in the state, including several in western UP, the region Bharala belongs to, have been classified among India’s most polluting ones.

The state government has put on hold all road relaying works and ordered the seizure of all diesel and other polluting vehicles. Schools in several parts of the state, including western UP, have been closed in the wake of alarming AQI.

The opposition parties in the state questioned Bharala’s suggestion.

“We would like chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is to visit western UP on Monday, to clear the air on the subject. A day after he advised against stubble burning, one of his own party leaders has made a suggestion that only exposes the bankruptcy of thought and the callous disregard of environment,” said Samajwadi Party leader IP Singh.

The Congress too wanted to know if the government agreed with Bharala.

“This government has made the country and the state a laughing stock. They are running their government in the name of Lord Ram when the fact is that everything about them is Ram bharose (completely dependent on God). They neither have leaders nor any vision,” said UP Congress’ secretary Devendra Pratap Singh.