Relief for forest staff

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, May 3

With the temperature dropping to 23 degree Celsius today, the Forest Department heaved a sigh of relief as no major fire was reported in the Nahan forest circle today.

Conservator, Forests, Nahan circle, YP Gupta, said apart from one or two cases of fire which occurred last night near Nahan, the situation in Solan and Sirmaur districts was under control.

The authorities of various residential schools, however, remained alert and deployed adequate staff to clear the fire lines around their campuses.

He said they had requested the state government to provide funds for a mobile van having water arrangement so that it could be rushed to any spot in case of fire.

As many as 191 cases of fire have been reported in the twin districts of Solan and Sirmaur with maximum of 96 cases having surfaced in the last one week. Though the forest staff is yet to work out the exact estimate of the area damaged due to fire, initial estimates indicate that 3,172 hectares comprising 50 hectares under plantation of the Forest Department, have been damaged.

Out of the 271 beats, 173 are fire sensitive and this has increased the headache of the understaffed department. As fire watchers are deployed for a few weeks only, not many people come forward to take up the responsibility.

Gupta said they should be deployed for at least three months so that they could get adequate number of locals to assist the regular forest staff in the prime fire season.

The forest staff is now focusing on clearing the fire hardy area where inflammable pine needles lie in large numbers.