Amritsar: Dry spell and soaring temperatures have posed a grave risk of wildfire in nearly 15,000 hectares of forest area in Pathankot district bordering Himachal Pradesh even as a few minor cases of fire have already been reported.
With temperature going above 40°C coupled with common practice of burning stubble after harvesting wheat by many farmers, the poorly-equipped forest department is doing its bit to bring awareness among people of the area to desist from the practice and take a lesson from Uttarakhand forest conflagration that has razed thousands of hectares of green cover.
Pathankot district forest officer (territorial) Gursharan Singh told TOI on Monday that there were a few minor fire incidents that were immediately brought under control. “Rising temperatures and dry conditions only exacerbate the risk in case there is even a minor negligence,” he said.
The district forest officer (DFO) said as a preventive measure, the department was making announcements from village temples and gurdwaras cautioning farmers to not burn stubble. “Our guards are also spreading awareness against sudden fire breaking out from discarded cigarette butts and beedis,” he said.
Last week there were incidents of fire near Ghatasani village in Himachal Pradesh that also posed threat to Pathankot forests. “That particular area is quite far away from Pathankot forest belt but we are taking all preventive measures and leaving nothing to chance,” said the DFO. He claimed that the department had also made arrangements of fire brigades near main roads and standby water tanker arrangements had also been made in case of a fire breakout.
Contrary to the claims of the forest department, Deepak Maini of Niari vilalge in Dhar Kalan block said, “The nearest fire brigade office is 35 km away so how can you say we should be rest assured in case of a fire incident?”
He added that last year a portion of the forest in Niari village had caught fire and when contacted, the forest department officials had expressed helplessness following which the residents lifted water from a swimming pool of a nearby resort with motor pumps and doused the flames.