GOING UP IN FLAMES

Forest fires in Uttarakhand and other parts of the country have not only wrecked the local economy in the short term but also have long-term repercussions. It could get worse if stakeholders do not come together to fight the menace

- Ankita Mookherjee

Ahead of World Environment Day June 5-the news is grim. Forest fires are raging across large swathes of forest land across Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Things got worse last month with a pall of smoke lying heavy over the hills.

However, it is the fires in Uttarakhand that have hogged the headlines. This is partly because the Supreme Court has excoriated the Uttarakhand government for its lackadaisical attitude towards firefighting and images of Indian Air Force using helicopter buckets (popularly called Bambi Buckets) to douse fires in Nainital district were flashed nationally.

The state has a forest area of 38,000 square kilometres, according to a 2019 Forest Survey of India report. Since November last year there have been 1,000-plus forest fires in Uttarakhand. November to June is considered to be the forest fire season in India. Six people have lost their lives, thousands of hectares of forests have been burnt to the ground, the loss of flora and fauna is still to be counted. Thousands and thousands of litres of water have been poured in an attempt to douse the flames, according to media reports.

The losses do not include the long-term effects on soil nutrient and the environment. Tourism, a big money churner, is also hit. The state government has already spent close to Rs 20 lakh and counting on controlling the forest fires.

FOREST FIRES IN UTTARAKHAND ARE AN ANNUAL AFFAIR. BUT THEIR INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OVER THE YEARS HAVE INCREASED...FROM 922 IN 2002 TO 1,165 IN 2017, 4,714 IN 2018 AND 41,600 IN 2019

As per the 2023-24 annual report of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change the ongoing four-year National Collaborative Scheme on Forest Fire Management Rs 22.31 crore has been allotted for a period of four years starting 2022-23 of which only Rs 3.81 crore has been released so far.