Green wealth burns across state, great loss to nation

Tribune Reporters

Mussoorie, April 30

Forest fires in the Garhwal region razing for the past one week have left behind a sad tale of destruction and loss of property and cattle. The Forest Department that boasts of all preparedness to tackle forest fires are clueless about the present incidents. Forest Department officials and environmentalists say villagers set forests on fire to beget fresh grass for their cattle during the monsoon.

A cattle head tied in a cowshed perished in a fresh incident of forest fire near Gyansu village in Uttarkashi district. An ox was saved while a calf was pulled out with severe burn injuries. The forests in the eco-sensitive Ganga and Yamuna valleys are burning unabated but the Forest Department is unable to do anything.

Forest fires were also witnessed in Mussoorie. The deodar forest near Char Dukan in the Landour Cantonment area was completely destroyed in a raging fire incident, causing a loss to the tune of several crores of rupees. Forest fires were also reported from Cliff Cottage and the Camel’s Back Road area where attempts were made to douse the fire with the help of Nirankari Mission members. The Forest Department employees were able to douse the fire by creating fire lines and stopping it from entering human habitations. Forest Range Officer Harsh Ram Uniyal, during a van panchayat meeting at Kanda Kholi in Tehri Garhwal district, blamed local villagers for burning the forest in the hope of fresh grass for fodder during the monsoon. He solicited the help of villagers to check forest fires and requested them to inform forest officials immediately.

Environmentalists too believe that rise in forest fire incidents is not an accident and apparently locals are involved in setting trees on fire. They say more than 1,000 hectares of forests have been destroyed. The fires in private forests have also increased and environmentalists say these are being intentionally set on fire to clear the areas for new constructions in and around Mussoorie.

Upendar Lekhwar, journalist form Parodi village in Thatyur block, does not believe that the mafia is setting forests on fire. On the contrary, it is ignorant villagers who believe that burning forest would beget more grass during the monsoon for their cattle.

He said forest officials who failed in their duty to take care of the forests were now blaming the timber mafia for fire incidents.