On a visit to CherYsh project sites in the sugarcane-rich region of Haliyal, Uttara Kannada district, I saw the fire. Far afield it raged, billowing smoke into the villages – pristine, green, and clean.
Sugarcane trash was being burned.
It seemed a normal practice in the area. Farmers found it expensive to dispose off the cane trash in any other manner. It was ironic – not only were the expansive and clean environs of these villages being swept by swathes of smoke,