Over 2,000 farmers have been booked for stubble burning in Uttar Pradesh.

As many as 144 FIRs have been lodged in various districts over the last 24 hours for stubble burning alone. The police lodged 15 FIRs in Balrampur, eight in Bahraich and Kushinagar, seven each in Aligarh, Basti and Hardoi, and six each in Rampur, Shahjahanpur, Siddhartha Nagar among others, reported National Herald.

Six persons have also been reported to be arrested in Saharanpur for burning stubble.

The district police chiefs of Uttar Pradesh are directed by Director General of Police (DGP) HC Awasthi to regulate air pollution by spreading awareness against ill-effects of stubble burning among farmers and for proper disposal of crop residue by involving village committees and heads.

Additional Director General of Police, law and order, Prashant Kumar said the Supreme Court was monitoring the situation and district police chiefs have been asked to ensure guidelines of curbing stubble burning were followed.

However, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has demanded withdrawal of cases against the farmers and has threatened agitation if ‘victimisation’ of farmers was not stopped.

Meanwhile, a large number of bees were reportedly charred to death in a farm in Shahjahanpur, due to stubble burning. A bee farmer, Dharmendra Kumar, claimed that he had suffered huge losses and has filed a complaint in this regard.

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