Chandigarh, May 26 (PTI) Punjab continued to witness an increase in the number of wheat stubble-burning incidents with the cumulative fire incidents since April 15 surpassing the 13,000-mark, officials said on Tuesday.

A total of 13,274 wheat stubble-burning incidents have been reported between April 15 and May 26, which is the highest for the corresponding period since 2018, they said.

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As per satellite data provided by the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, the number of stubble-burning incidents in the corresponding period of 2018 and 2019 were 11,343 and 11,287, respectively.

On May 26, as many as 102 wheat straw-burning incidents were reported in the state. On the same date in 2018 and 2019, the numbers were 26 and 390 respectively, as per the data.

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Moga district reported the highest number of stubble-burning incidents at 1,189, followed by Amritsar at 1,143, Bathinda at 1,064, Ferozepur at 1,054 and Ludhiana at 986, as per the data available.

Stubble-burning in Punjab, Haryana and other neighbouring states is often blamed as a major cause of pollution in the national capital.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)