1,050 hectares ravaged in Una

Our Correspondent

Una, May 3

Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan today held a meeting in the wake of increasing incidents of forest fires in the district. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) RK Dogra said as many as 58 incidents of forest fire had been reported during the last fortnight, resulting in damage to about 1,050 hectares, including about 400 hectares of the reserved forest.

Dogra said some of the affected forest areas included those covered under afforestation during the last few years. He said the department had assessed the loss at Rs 22 lakh. He said the exact extent of damage would be calculated with the help of satellite images during the monsoons.

Dogra said extended drought period accompanied by sudden rise in the temperature provided optimum ignition conditions. He, however, said burning of farm produce was the main reason for the fires.

The official said a cluster approach be followed to check incidents of fire. He said each cluster of villages would have a team of responsible persons from the Forest Department and panchayats who would share fire-related information and act in a group to check its spread.

The department stressed the need for a legislation to deal with the menace of kindling fire by local farmers.

The Divisional Forest Officersaid the names of 32 farmers, who had kindled fire that spread to the nearby forests, had been reported to the police.

Dogra directed the department to undertake an awareness campaign through the public address system in all villages at the earliest.