Reports of forest fires are pouring in for the last couple of months from most of the districts, forcing the state to lose its forest resources.
After the reported major forest fires in Anjaw and West Kameng, Lower Dibang Valley district is witnessing forest fires for almost a week. Alert police personnel have had to seek coordinated efforts from Assam’s fire service and police personnel to prevent the spread of the fires to nearby districts.
Both Lower Dibang Valley district administration and police have already issued advisories and appealed to the people, including panchayat leaders and gaon burahs, to hold awareness programmes on forest fires and report any incident of forest fire to the authorities concerned.
Forest fires are also manmade, either intentionally or accidentally. The district administration has emphasised round-the-clock monitoring in vulnerable areas by the departments concerned.
The latest in the endeavour to prevent forest fires is an appeal from the environment, forest and climate change department. It has appealed to the people to refrain from “lighting fires in forests, grasslands, agricultural fields, and near human settlements,” as precautionary measures to prevent forest fires. The department has appealed to the village authorities to constitute village-level fire watch groups, and to create awareness on fire hazards.
The time has come for the environment, forest and climate change department to involve more and more students and youths in forest fire management under the green skill development programme for conservation of the environment and the rich flora and fauna.