Pong no sanctuary for wildlife as farmers set stubble on fire

Raghav Guleria

Advertisement

Dharamsala, May 21

It seems that the wildlife wing of the state Forest Department has given up its control over the Pong Lake, as this year all the vacant land was fenced with barbed wire, thoroughly ploughed and harvested with combines in broad daylight. Now, the entire area is in smoke arising from the residual wheat straw put on fire.

The department is in deep slumber, but residents of the area have been repeatedly raising the issue. After exhausting the locally available channels, they finally approached the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, upon whose directions they have now filed a case in the National Green Tribunal and are expecting a favourable decision soon.

Environmentalists Milkhi Ram Sharma, Kulwant Thakur and Ujagar Singh have shown the courage to take up this matter to the highest level. Talking to The Tribune, Sharma said, “According to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the Supreme Court order of 2002, the wetland notification of 2018 states that no non-forestry activity can take place in the region. As the department gave its silent consent for these violations, we had no choice but to register a case at the Green Tribunal and are optimistic that the established law would prevail.”

DFO Wildlife Reginald Royston, said “Instructions have been given to the officials concerned to take strict action against those who set fire.” According to Royston, FIRs have been registered and the matter has been reported to SP Kangra.

Pong Lake waters fill to the brim in the rainy season and then start receding, creating wetland which plays host to the biggest and the toughest migration of birds.

The birds come from Tibet, Mongolia and even Siberia. Thus, the region has been declared a bird sanctuary, an eco-sensitive zone and a Ramsar wetland; a protected place in direct supervision of the wildlife wing of the state Forest Department.

There is a conflict of interest as the people living in the periphery cultivate these fertile pastures. This results in disturbing the nestling and roosting sites where the birds lay eggs.

Environmentalists living in vicinity feel that the department which shows its presence every now and then is conspicuous by its absence in the last one year, which is nothing short of a surrender.

Conflict of interest

• Pong Lake waters fill to the brim in the rainy season and then start receding, creating wetland which plays host to the biggest and the toughest migration of birds.
• The region has been declared a bird sanctuary, an eco-sensitive zone and a Ramsar wetland; a protected place in direct supervision of the wildlife wing of the state Forest Department
• There is a conflict of interest as the people living in the periphery cultivate these fertile pastures. This results in disturbing the nestling and roosting sites where the birds lay eggs
• Environmentalists living in vicinity feel that the department which shows its presence every now and then is conspicuous by its absence in the last one year, which is nothing short of a surrender