Explained: Why Punjab is banking on Guru Nanak’s message to fight stubble burning, conserve water

“Pavan Guru, Paani Pitaa, Maataa Dharat Mahat (Air is teacher, water, the father and Earth, the great mother), is a shalok (verse) in ‘Japuji Sahib’, a religious text of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev had given this mantra on the land of Sultanpur Lodhi over five centuries back. With this the Guru had created tried to sensitise people on respecting air, water and Earth just like one respects teacher, father and mother by keeping all these natural sources clean.

What resolution did Punjab government pass recently?

In deference to the basic tenets of Guru Nanak Dev’s philosophy, the Punjab Council of Ministers in its last Cabinet meeting at Sultanpur Lodhi passed a resolution to mark 550th birth anniversary of the Guru. It said that the government will take all necessary administrative and legal steps to effectively check the fast depleting ground water table in the state. About stubble burning Punjab government urged the farmers of Punjab to refrain from setting their fields on fire as it kills the soil health and fertility.

Why government felt that there was a need to pass such a resolution?

Punjab government felt that people of Punjab would heed to the reinforcement of the Guru’s message and stop abusing natural resources. Government has been trying hard to arrest stubble burning but farmers are not ready to stop it despite ban on this by the government.

Why is this message relevant for today’s Punjab?

Punjab is struggling with river water pollution with all its major rivers, drains and rivulets being polluted by untreated sewage and industrial waste. Even the holy Bein, in which Guru Nanak used to take a dip, had come to be known as Kali Bein, until environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal stepped forward to clean it. Still, at a few places, sewer water is being discharged in it.

Also, failure to significantly shrink area under water-guzzling paddy crop has ensured that water table in Punjab has gone down at a rapid pace. Excessive use of fertilisers has degraded soil health.

Besides, by growing water-guzzling crop-paddy on mammoth area, its ground water has gone down drastically and experts said that Punjab may turn into a desert in the coming few decades.

Punjab burns stubble on majority of its agricultural land every year after harvesting paddy and wheat. Due to burning, 30 kg of nitrogen per hectare, 13.8 kg of phosphorus, 30 kg of potassium and several important microbial organism are lost from the soil, said Secretary, Agriculture Punjab, K S Pannu, adding that besides this “we create huge air pollution”.

“Guru’s message is highly relevant in present context when our surface water is polluted and ground water is depleting every year while air and soil (earth) health also gets degraded due to burning stubble on lakhs of hectares farm fields twice a year after paddy and wheat harvesting,” said a senior Punjab Pollution Board officer.

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