Wildfire destroys 800 hectares
Wildfire destroys 800 hectares
12 April 2013
published by www.thehimalayantimes.com
Nepal — TAMGHAS/PARASI: A massive wildfire raging in the Resunga Forest of Gulmi for three days has so far destroyed almost 800 hectares of forest area, posing a threat to the adjoining human settlements.
Earlier, the forest had caught fire from a cliff nearby Dubichaur village on Wednesday. Hundreds of police and army personnel deployed to fight the fire had doused the blaze after three days of strenuous efforts with the help of locals, but barely two hours after the blaze was doused today afternoon, fire broke out again.
According to the district forest authorities, the fire had broken out from three different areas of the forest: Nunmare, Dhago Badhne Danda and Tarneta of Paralmi.
With the wind causing it to spread, the adjoining Tama and Chhapa villages in Paralmi VDC are under threat. The District Forest Office said dousing the fire has been a daunting task owing to the difficult landform and dry forest bed.
FNCCI Gulmi chapter today shut the Tamghas bazaar till noon and hundreds of locals had rushed with water in cans and jars to lend support to the firefighting team.
The Resunga Forest is spread over 3,000 hectares and 18 communities live in the adjoining settlements.
Elsewhere, wildfires in eight different places of Nawalparasi are yet to be tamed. Six community forests Jagriti, Naba Durga, Madhyabindu and Hariyali in Nayan Belhani and Prasauni and two national forests in Danda and Prasauni have been raging, said a forest official. Forest land over 20 hectares has been gutted already, he added. Meanwhile, similar blazes have also been reported in Ramechhap, where according to the authorities, community forests based in Bhalubajor and Ramechhap VDCs have been heavily damaged.
