Thread by @IndiaArtHistory

Why Delhi & NCR suffers from smog every year?
(A Thread)

Regarding the burning of crop stubble, many have said this wasn’t prevalent even few decades back. So what went wrong?
(cont.)
#DelhiBachao #DelhiAirQuality

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill Traditionally, rice was cut manually & straw collected for use as fodder & as well as bedding for the animals. This changed with the introduction of combine harvesters in the 1980s. Now, paddy could be cut & threshed in a single operation, but that left the straw on the ground.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill The combine harvester also cuts the crop 8 inches above the ground, thus leaving the more digestible stem stuck in the soil. The upper part, being high in silica, doesn’t make for good fodder especially when compared to the wheat residue and commercial feed.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill The small window of around 15 days between the harvesting of rice and the sowing of wheat along with the non-availability of labour pushes farmers towards the easy option of burning the straw. Farmers also report a direct benefit of less pests and weeds in the subsequent crop.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill Settling down of nomadic communities like the Van Gujjars whose large cattle herds would graze over the the stubble and keep the fields clean, ready for the next crop sowing.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill This “settling down” of nomadic tribes started from the British era, who had a deep rooted and unjustified hatred stemming from suspicion towards these nomadic communities.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill Unfortunately post independence instead of understanding the age old interdependence of our agricultural -pastoral/nomadic communities, the GOI pursued the same policy of “settling” these communities which led to the farmers losing their stubble cleaners.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill The most unfortunate scenario of this crisis today is to play electioneering game and executing a profitable political mud-slinging, not addressing the real issue and chalk out a plan to get rid of this menace.

@AtishiAAP @DelhiWalks @Go_Movie_Mango @Redhotpedia @DalrympleWill Always remember that Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned for want of drinking water and pls don't make situation more worse that these cities will be abandoned for want of fresh air.

Thank you & Jai Hind..😊🙏🇮🇳