Hazy times

Alternative management of stubbles should be incentivised and practitioners of stubble-burning punished.

An unseasonal grey haze shrouds the sky, a burning sensation pricks the eyes, and a faint headache lingers. A big autumn festival is just over, and many more are on the way, but the mood outside is sombre at best. The fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles have returned to the roads after the brief Dashain lull, and the carbon monoxide levels in the cities have spiked. If that was not enough, farmers have returned to the fields for the seasonal harvest, and smoke billowing from farms has returned to the sky. It is the story of poor accountability on the part of the government and lack of innovation on the part of the farmers repeated all over again. As in last year, people’s quality of life has gone for a toss as the government pays little heed to the annual ritual of stubble burning after paddy harvest and farmers have discovered no alternative to this unscientific practice that puts the lives of their fellow citizens, and their own, at risk.