Parali to Pulp: Waste-to-Wealth - Innovative Ideas to Address Crop Burning

The burning of crop stubble remains an enormous challenge, as the plumes of smoke released reduce the quality of air in surrounding states and create a health hazard for residents. In this article, Sanchi Garg talks about Kriya Labs, which converts pulp made from paddy straws into value-added products such as tableware, egg trays, millboards, and bio-foams.

- Sanchi Garg

The actions of humanity have been held in contempt for the role they have played in the degradation of the environment for a long time now. Major actions have been taken, but the overall picture lacks lustre as it cannot be called ‘bankable’. A major issue is the burning of paddy straw in Punjab and Haryana the detrimental effects of which can be seen hundreds of kilometres way in Delhi-NCR. The issue has become of paramount concern for authorities to tackle.

Cause and Effect: What, Why, and How of Paddy Straw Burning

After rice is harvested, farmers in Punjab and Haryana set the crop residue on fire to clear the fields and make it ready for sowing the next cycle of crops. This fire eventually leads to accumulation of smog in the cities around those fields, resulting in horrendous consequences for the people inhaling the air. Approximately 12 million tonnes of paddy straw are burnt every year in these areas, which cause unprecedented harm to the air in and around the national capital. Asthma, allergies, blood disorders, lung diseases are some of the problems that have been plaguing the capital because of these malpractices in the agricultural sector. According to an article published by Livemint, the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is categorized as ‘good’ in the range of 0=50, touched the staggering 858 in November 2019.