The ongoing forest fire in Uttarakhand has also destroyed the mixed forest of Sal-Chir at Adwani in Narendranagar, which was among the success stories of the Chipko movement.
Blaming the Forest Department for negligence, angry villagers staged a demonstration to protest against the authorities.
It was here in the forests of Adwani during the seventies that the villagers rose in protest against illegal tapping of pine for resin forcing the contractor to desist. later, after the auction of this forest, the villagers clung around the trees to prevent them from being axed.
The locals have an emotional bond with these woods but this time, the forest at Adwani has been engulfed by fire and destroyed.
The villagers, staging a protest demonstration at Khadi against the Forest Department, averred that forests in the region had sustained serious damage due to the failure of the department. District panchayat member Anil Bhandari and other local residents were also among those who protested.