Banasura under threat of forest fires
Banasura under threat of forest fires
04 May 2016
published by http://english.mathrubhumi.com
Vellamunda: With summer peaking, the grasslands and shola forests of the Banasura Hills have come under the threat of forest fires. The fires that have become a routine event in the recent years and has been burning down priceless reserves of biodiversity year after year. Forest fires erupt in the months of March and within days burn down the forest into cinders.
The routine fires have returned undeterred by the fire lines established by the Forest Department. More than often it is the forest brigands who set the grasslands on fire. Soon the fire engulfs the dry grass and leaps to the shola forests strengthened by the strong winds. The damage multiplies as the huge old trees catch fire.
The Banasura Hills were a reserve of the famed ‘Kaattukurunji’ flowers and many other exotic flora and fauna. These species have all but disappeared now following the natural and man made interventions. The forest streams are drying up with the advent of summer and the people in the valleys are left scrambling for water.
The undergrowth of the forest has disappeared in recent times resulting in runoff and rainwater drainage to the valleys. The absence of water retention and percolation has resulted in the streams drying up and has made them seasonal.
Crores of rupees go wasted as the saplings planted under the Social Forestry Scheme dry up in summers every year. Despite the efforts of the department, the saplings either burn down in the forest fire or dry up in the parched summer. The death of the grasslands have also contributed to the damage by exposing the top soil to erosion and runoff.
Wayanad is highly dependent on these hills for its weather balance. It is the Banasura hills that stop the winds that come past the Western Ghats and ensure rainfall upto 1600 mm in the hills of Wayanad.
Rampant forest fires and forest brigandary have turned the great mountains into dry parched patches.
Landslides and mining mafias are added challenges. There has been no concerted plan to protect Bansura Hills so far. The forest protection councils are helpless in front of the massive forest fires and no environmental groups have taken up the cause either.
Tara Singh Sob, 76, of Silgadi feels very strange these days. He had never seen such view of nature ever before. Heavy haze throughout the day in the month of May is what he is finding quite surprising. “Mist was seen in winter morning and evenings. But seeing such mist-like haze during summer is strange, I have never seen this before,” he said.
This year, almost all parts of Doti district are experiencing such uncommon weather. Locals are finding it difficult to carry out their daily activities due to insufficient light even during the day. “It’s very dark all the time. We see sunlight only for a while in day,” said Khadak Bikram Shahi, a businessman from Dipayal. “Though the weather is very hot all the time, we haven’t seen the sun properly for a week now,” he added.
Locals feel that that haze has been due to the recent surge in forest fires in and around the district. Forest fires have been catching up in the region – in the mountain and adjacent Tarai districts. “Perhaps it’s due to smoke released from the forest fires in our and surrounding districts, Narendra Khadka, president of local branch of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) said. “Fire has destroyed most of the forests in the district. You can see literally every forest in the district has been engulfed by fire. It seems that the smoke released from these fires have clouded the atmosphere here,” he said.
The haze has taken toll on public health as well. Locals have been complaining of respiratory problems, headache, irritation in eyes and various skin related problems. Suraj Baldar, assistant doctor at the eye clinic of the District Hospital, informed that numbers of patients visiting the facility has been increasing. “Though we used to see surge in the number of eye patients at this time of the year, this time their number has been quite high, ” he said adding, “The quality of the air has degraded.”
Similarly, Harish Shah, public health monitor at facility pointed that there has been surge in the number of people complaining of respiratory problems. “Even when people are simply sitting or taking rest, they are sneezing time and again. Many find it difficult to breathe,” he said. “Such problem is seen even more in motorcyclists.”
Meanwhile, Min Kumar Aryal, meteorologist in the district said that such atmosphere has been prevalent in most part of the country. “This is not an issue that Doti alone is facing. Other districts are also facing similar circumstances. Forest fire in the western side of the district has worsened air quality here,” he said.
He claims that the haze would subside if it would rain. “Pollution levels in the atmosphere would drop down significantly if it would rain. Normally at this time of year, the district should receive pre-monsoon rain fall. But this year, it has not rained so far. This has escalated pollutant levels in the atmosphere,” he explained. – See more at: http://www.myrepublica.com/society/story/41602/forest-fire-haze-robs-doti-of-sunlight.html#sthash.yqBwgZho.dpuf
