Patiala, Nov. 1 -- Though nearly 80% of paddy harvesting has been completed across Punjab, the state continued to experience a sharp surge in stubble burning incidents on Friday when it reported 224 fresh cases. With this, the total count has reached 1,642 this season. The recent spike marks a worrying trend as Punjab has recorded over 600 farm fire incidents in the past 72 hours, indicating that the practice of burning crop residue is intensifying as harvesting nears its final leg.

According to the data compiled by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Sangrur district once again emerged as a major contributor, reporting 64 farm-fire incidents in a single day. With this, Sangrur's cumulative tally has risen to 281, making it having second-h...