Once known for its forest wealth, Jammu and Kashmir suffered badly due to massive deforestation for several decades.
Later, efforts were made to recover to some extent. However, measures must also be taken to protect the forests from further damage, be it with the deforestation or the forest fires.
The reports of forest fires coming for last several days from various parts very worrying. The incidents continue to occur amid the ongoing dry spell. At some places the fire was brought under control and at other places efforts are going on to do so.
There is an immediate need to prevent such incidents. Reports say burning of grass is also causing forest fires. Such activities must be stopped immediately whenever there are apprehensions for forest fire.
Fire fighting operations are difficult in forests and it takes time to bring the flames under control immediately if the fire is massive and involves big trees. And then there is shortage of manpower with the fire and emergency services department. Incidents of fire are also on a rise in residential areas.
There are reports of residential houses and other structures getting gutted in such mishaps. Almost every year by this time of the winter, the forests used to get covered by a thick blanket of snow. So in that case there hardly used to be any forest fire.
But this winter a major snowfall is yet to occur in Kashmir. Some higher reaches had experienced light snowfall but rest of the valley is yet to receive a snowfall. If such conditions continue in coming weeks, the incidents of fire in residential areas and forests will be further on rise. Till a snowfall occurs, preventive measures have to be taken to avoid fire incidents.
The fire and emergency services department has issued advisory to prevent forest fire. They include avoiding open flames, reporting suspicious activities, adhering to fire restrictions, planning outdoor activities carefully, and reporting fires immediately.
Adhering to the advisory can help avoiding forest fire. Keeping forests safe from any further damage is a collective responsibility, which needs to be taken seriously.