A Unique Way of Learning Vocabulary from Leading Newspaper (Times of India)

Stop Crop Burning

Instead of just fining Punjab & Haryana farmers, give them profitable alternatives too

In a week or so wheat harvesting will end in Punjab and Haryana and it will be time to get the fields ready for paddy planting in the monsoon. This is a very worrying time for the larger neighborhood including Delhi, because if farmers ready their fields by burning stubble, the dark smoke clouds that rise as a result travel far and wide, carrying in their wake severe air pollution. Once again the Environment Pollution Control Authority has directed both state governments to ensure that there is no wheat stubble burning. Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and Manohar Lal Khattar must ensure that this time their state machinery fulfills the EPCA directive.

On the upside there is evidence that both governments are now doing more stringent monitoring but on the downside this seems to be just driving many farmers to burn the stubble covertly – or claim that their field fires are accidental. This reflects poorly on measures to provide farmers convenient and profitable alternatives to burning stubble. For example, subsidies for agri equipment, such as happy seeder or rotavor that can sow seeds without the need to remove the remains of stubble, haven’t reached most farmers – not to mention that these subsidies are accompanied by cumbersome formalities.

The track record is even worse when it comes to commericalising the stubble for animal feed, packaging and paper industries, power generation, etc. Both Punjab and Haryana governments have been unconscionably laggard on this front. This must change. Remember that burning stubble doesn’t just cause respiratory diseases and worsen greenhouse gas emissions, it causes severe heat stress on the farmland itself, with one rough estimate being that it destroys soil nutrients worth up to Rs 2,000 crore every year.

But speaking of laggardness, when stubble is burnt and a soupy smog rises, when city chemists run short of protective masks and a public health crisis grows, India’s National Air Quality Index cannot even provide a reliable measurement as it doesn’t have enough monitoring stations and even the existing ones don’t monitor for all important pollutants. It has one air quality monitor for the entire metropolis of Mumbai as compared to London’s 100. From Centre to states, solutions to curb crop burning and clean the air are well known. What’s needed is the political resolve to deliver these solutions.

IMPORTANT WORDS FORM ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING

1) Stubble (चारा) - Stub-blMeaning - the cut stalks of cereal plants left sticking out of the ground after the grain is harvested - Noun
Synonyms - stalks, straw
Example - A field of stubble.

2) Subsidies (अनुवृत्ति) - Sub-si-deesMeaning - a sum of money granted by the state or a public body to help an industry or business keep the price of a commodity or service low - Noun
Synonyms - allowance, assistance
Antonyms - forfeit, injury
Example - All volunteers will receive a subsidy to help pay for transportation.

3) Accompanied (सहित) -  A-cum-pun-eedMeaning - go somewhere with (someone) as a companion or escort - Verb
Synonyms - attend, consort
Antonyms - abandon, disregard
Example - The rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning.

4) Cumbersome (बोझिल) - Cum-ber-someMeaning - large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use, unwieldy - Adjective
Synonyms - awkward, unwieldy
Antonyms - aiding, easy
Example - The cumbersome box was too big for the shopping cart.

5) Laggard (आलसी) - Lag-gardMeaning - slower than desired or expected - Adjectivea person who makes slow progress and falls behind others - Noun
Synonyms - slug, dawdler
Example - In the race, James was the laggard who finished in last place.

6) Stringent (कठोर) - Strin-gentMeaning - (of regulations, requirements, or conditions) strict, precise, and exacting - Adjective
Synonyms - strict, firm
Antonyms - calm, easy
Example - Many Americans are keeping their money in overseas banks because the tax laws are less stringent in foreign countries.

7) Worsen (खराब) - Wor-senMeaning - make or become worse - Verb
Synonyms - aggravate, decline
Antonyms - aid, comfort
Example - The economic recession has continued to worsen.

8) Reliable (विश्वसनीय) - Rel-i-blMeaning - consistently good in quality or performance, able to be trusted - Adjectivea reliable person or thing - Noun
Synonyms - decent, decisive
Antonyms - broken, corrupt
Example - Because the painkiller gives me reliable results, it’s my preferred pain medication.

Word of the Day9) Debonair (ख़ुशमिज़ाज) - Deb-nair

• Meaning - (of a man) confident, stylish, and charming - Adjective
• Synonyms - dashing, casual
• Antonyms - awkward, clumpsy
• Example (English) - He was the most popular and debonair man who was killed in a plane crash in 1977.
• Example (Hindi) - वह सबसे अधिक विख्यात और मिलनसार व्यक्ति था जिसकी 1977 में विमान दुर्घटना में मृत्यु हुई थी।

Now considering the article above as a Reading Comprehension question, try to answer the following - 

• What are some of the controls on the burning of crop residue?
• Which strategies can help producers reduce the need to burn?

Given below are some words to check your vocabulary you can make sentences with those words in the comment section which will be reviewed by us.

• Ensure 
• Respiratory
• Alternatives 
• Estimate