Punjab CM Mann invokes Gurbani to urge farmers to stop stubble burning

PTI, Nov 16, 2023, 7:04 PM IST

As Punjab struggles to stop the rampant stubble burning in farms, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday invoked the verses of the holy Gurbani to urge farmers not to burn crop residue as it was polluting the air.

”We are burning our oxygen. The smoke first passes through the lungs of our children and then it goes elsewhere,” Mann said at an event here in Ludhiana while referring to stubble burning and bursting of firecrackers.

His remarks came as Punjab recorded more than 30,000 crop residue burning incidents since September 15. Paddy straw burning in the state and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.

Mann quoted the verse ‘Pawan Guru, Paani Pitaah, Mata Dharat Mahat’ from Gurbani and spoke about how the great Sikh Gurus equated air (pawan) with teacher, water (paani) with father and land (dharat) with mother.

He called for imbibing the teachings of Gurbani by resolving not to burn crop residue.

The chief minister said concerted efforts must be made to check the environmental pollution for which every individual should come forward.

During his address at a state-level function to mark the martyrdom day of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mann said the state government will name the upcoming international airport at Halwara, Ludhiana after the freedom fighter.

Sarabha was India’s youngest revolutionary who sacrificed his life at the age of 19, he said, adding the martyr had been an inspiration for the younger generations.

Mann said Sarabha played a pivotal role in emancipating the country from the clutches of foreign imperialism, adding that as an active leader of the Ghadar Party he worked untiringly to attain freedom first abroad and then within the country.

”The state government will name the upcoming international airport at Halwara as Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha International Airport,” he said, adding that 80 per cent of work on the project has been completed and it will be operational soon.

The chief minister batted for conferring the Bharat Ratna award to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha and other legendary martyrs, saying it will enhance its prestige.

He said the state government would leave no stone unturned to develop the native village of the martyr into a model one. Earlier, the chief minister also visited the ancestral house of Sarabha and paid floral tributes to the martyr.