Forest fire in talash valley brought under control after 48 hours
Forest fire in talash valley brought under control after 48 hours
09 November 2016
published by https://www.thenews.com.pk
Pakistan TIMERGARA: The fire that broke out in forests in Talash Valley on Monday evening was brought under control after 48 hours following hectic efforts made by officials of Forest Department, Lower Dir, an official said on Tuesday.
The fire engulfed hundreds of pine trees in the forest spreading over about four kilometres area. Talking to The News by phone, Divisional Forest Officer, Lower Dir, Muhammad Farooq claimed that the inferno may have caused by the dry twigs of pine trees.
He added that officials of the Forest Department along with the local community and schoolchildren doused the fire after hectic efforts. Today I visited the Government High School Shamshi Khan Talash and thanked the principal Aftab Alam for sending students who helped the officials to extinguish the fire, Muhammad Farooq said.
He added that 100 personnel of the Levies force and 100 volunteers of the Civil Defence would stay on the spot till morning to oversee the situation. Muhammad Farooq said probe would be conducted into the matter to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Government has urged Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers who are deployed to guard Viphya Plantation against destruction to be vigilant by dealing with the perpetrators accordingly.
Msaka (left) walking in the plantantion
Minister of Mines, Energy and Natural Resources, Bright Msaka, made the statement Tuesday after touring the plantation, especially areas under the jurisdiction of Total Land Care and Raiply Malawi Limited.
Incidences of fire destroying numerous hectares of trees every year have been a never-ending song for the Viphya Plantation for over a decade now. The plantation is shared by two districts of Mzimba andNkhata Bay.
However, the issue has raged on in spite of efforts by government and its stakeholders to plant trees and guard them against destruction. Reports have indicated that more often, the fires that destroy the plantation are deliberately set rather than accidental.
The minister said government is aware that some disgruntled workers and individuals whose licences were cancelled are the ones setting fires in the plantation.
People need to know that this is a national asset, so if the department of forestry has denied somebody a licence for the reasons best known by the department, they are supposed to understand instead of setting fires, he said.
To mitigate the challenge, Msaka said government deployed MDF soldiers in protected forests across the country as a way of scaring people from destroying the plantations.
In spite of the effort, some people are still setting parts of the Viphya Forest on fire, regardless of the size of trees.
We have directed the Malawi Defence Force solders to deal with anyone setting bush fires and operating in the forest without licences and that the law will take its course [against them], he warned.
However, Msaka commended Raiply Malawi Limited and Total Land Care for utilizing the forest sustainably and adding value to the trees from the forest.
In the past, we have been cutting trees or sawing and selling them abroad at a very cheap price. We behaved like a prodigal son who squandered all what his father gave him.
We need to be very careful and be proud of what we inherited so that we can benefit from it and pass on those benefits to the next generation, advised the minister.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of Raiply Malawi Limited, Thomas Oomen, cited bush fires and encroachment as major challenges facing his company.
This year alone, we have lost about 526 hectares [of trees] to bush fires, unfortunately, most of these trees are below 15 years old but they are supposed to be harvested at the age of 25. This is dooming our future, said Oomen.
Chikangawa Forest consists of seven plantations comprising 53,000 hectares.
– See more at: http://www.nyasatimes.com/minister-msaka-warns-perpetrators-fire-viphya-forest/#sthash.5gaV0MIe.dpuf
