A fire broke out in stubble near Bhatia village in Ludhiana on Monday leading to smoke spreading over a large area in the vicinity.The stubble was kept at an open area leading to bigger chances of the fire spreading out to nearby fields.It is yet to be known whether the stubble caught fire on its own or if it was deliberately set on fire by the farmers.Even as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital and adjoining areas continues to deteriorate, the farmers in the agriculture belt of India continue to burn stubble in their farms.Once such case came up when smoke emanating from stubble burning choked the commuters on the National Highway 5 near Shambhu barrier on Saturday.In the fire, the wheat crop spread over hundreds of acres of land was reduced to ashes.The threat of air pollution looms large over the national capital region as the harvest season has kicked in.
