Speakers at a seminar, arranged by the activists of Henwal Valley and Himalayan Area held at Press Club on Saturday, expressed grave concern over thousands of hectares of jungles in the reserved forest area being ravaged in the forest fire in the summer between February and June due to some negligent forest officials.
They said that some of the forest officers were involved too in cahoots with the forest mafias who light many of the forest fires that emit a dangerously large amount of carbon in the atmosphere, endangering the climate and everything that thrives in it. They demanded the responsibility of the forest officers be fixed and those, found guilty, are adequately punished.
They said they had organised a similar kind of seminar at Tehri Garhwal on June 16- June 17. Around 75 persons across the spectrum like scholars, environment scientists and social workers from Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh, aside from other States like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Orissa and Delhi, participated.
Virendra Painuli, one of the speakers, discounted the theory that the villagers were involved in forest fire in the reserved forest area. “How they could have been involved when they are not allowed into the reserved forest areaIJ We are convinced that the forest mafias are having the fire lighted in cahoots with a section of the forest officers. Several academic reports have been made over forest fire but nothing has been executed. The Centre and the State Government should make such reports public. The people should have the knowledge of how much money is being spent to douse and arrest the forest fire. The State Government should present a white paper too over the issue. During the President’s rule, the Central Government drafted a report about the forest fire and that report should be brought in the public domain,” he said.
Vikram Singh Panwar, another speaker, said that there was a time when the villagers were actively involved in putting out the fire. “Government officials used to motivate them to do it. They not just doused the fire that engulfed their villages but ventured out to other villages to extinguish the blaze. Now the situation has changed. Mafias are involved in forest fire with the forest officials helping them in the heinous crime. And where are the villagersIJ Most of them have migrated from villages to cities,” he said.
Another member Vijay Jardhari said that a team of scientists, social workers, specialists, members of nagar samaj and other social organizations aside from the local residents should be formed for thorough investigation into the reasons leading to the forest fire. “In forest management, NCC, NSS, Scouts and Guides should be involved. The parts of the amount received under green bonus should be given to the local residents too to bring in them an active sense of involvement in taking the menace of the forest fire head-on. Besides, keeping it in view the long-term dangers lurking in such fires, forest fire should be recognised as natural disaster,” he said.
Other speakers said that elementary knowledge of the forest fire management and its prevention should be included in school curriculum.