 "Why Uttarakhand forests are on fire this season")
Social worker Vijay Jardari and other villagers of Jardhar Gaon in Tehri district joined hands to extinguish fire from their forest earlier this week. They made long handle brooms with green bushes to execute the role of firefighters. The villages in Uttarakhand are passing through a tough time due to widespread forest fire in the hill state. They are keeping a vigil round the clock to keep the forest fire away from their residential areas.
This year forest fire has created mass destruction in Uttarakhand. Visitors touring the hill state are shocked by the sight of smoke coming out from the forest. The smoke has affected the air quality and visibility. The local people are looking at the sky and praying to the rain god to come for their rescue in controlling and defusing the forest fire.
Forest fire remains a major problem for the Uttarakhand forest department, especially during summer. This year over one thousand incidents of forest fire have been reported from different parts of the hill state. The raging fire has affected 1,318 hectares of land (data till 8 May). The forest department assesses a loss of over Rs 29 Lakh due to forest fire. Heavy deployment of forest staff, local people and others has been made to help douse the flames. Even the Indian Air Force choppers are in operation.
On the grave situation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami said, “Our government is working on every front to control forest fires. Along with taking the help of the army, forest officers have also been instructed to reach ground zero and control the forest fire. Our government is also ensuring strict action against the miscreants who are causing damage to forests by setting them on fire.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe forest fire is an annual phenomenon in Uttarakhand. Some years the loss is high and sometimes low. This year a record number of incidents have taken place and this again demands active involvement of the local community in controlling the forest fire.
Why do forest fires take place?
More than 99 per cent of the forest fires are man-made. Less than one per cent of fires take place due to natural reasons or accidentally. Like a power grid falling due to heavy storms and other odd instances. This year the forest fire is raging in Uttarakhand due to low rainfall received during winter. The grass is dry and due to low moisture the fire has become rampant in different areas. Many allege that the forest department staff set fire to hide their failed plantation projects.
Why do villagers set fire?
Villagers set fire for many reasons. To get new grass in monsoon the dry bushes are burned. Local people also clear bushes from the village area to remove hiding places of leopards and other wild animals. Miscreants also set up fires for fun. Very recently three youths from another state were arrested at Gairsain (Chamoli) for promoting forest fire by shooting reel for social media. Many times the villagers set fire as a precautionary measure. They set fire near their village when they see the forest fire approaching their habitat area. This is done to avoid forest fires causing harm in the village and clearing the dry grass in advance.
Role of local community
The role of the local community is big as even after receiving information about any fire the forest department staff will take some time to reach the affected area. On the other hand, local villagers can instantly reach the affected area and help in early intervention.
Renowned environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt says, “Forest department alone can’t control forest fire. They need active support and cooperation from the villagers. Groups should be formed in the village and they should be provided all support. Awareness should be created at grassroots level about fighting forest fires.”
High casualty this season
Four persons have lost their lives and four others have sustained high burns this forest fire season (till 8 May) in Uttarakhand. The state forest department claims that no loss of animal life was reported from any part of the state. Plantation in over 16 hectares of land was affected and 427 trees were destroyed in the forest fire.
Pine needles are considered to play a major role in spreading fire. Social activist Vijay Jardhari says, “Villagers should be involved and they should be provided equipment and other support. Only villagers can tackle forest fires as they understand their forest well. Efforts should be made to utilise the pine needles for power generation and making other products.”
It is generally observed that the forest fire gets controlled by occasional rains in Uttarakhand. Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts received much awaited showers on Wednesday. Most of the forest fires in these two districts were doused. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted rainfall in many districts in Uttarakhand in the coming days. People are praying for the weather forecast to turn true and extinguish the forest fire to turn their life normal.
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