As India struggles to beat the second wave of COVID-19, another crisis in the form of a rampaging fire has engulfed the forests on the outskirts of Lunglei town in south-central Mizoram since Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to CM Zoramthanga during the day and offered him the Centre’s full support to deal with the forest fires which have damaged vast tracts of land and vegetation. The CM had requested the Indian Air Force (IAF) for help to put out the blaze in Lunglei and surrounding areas.
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According to an official, IAF’s Mi17 helicopter commenced a fire fighting operation, with Bambi Buckets, in the Zotlang area of Lunglawi town around 3:55 pm. A recce was conducted in the affected areas in the morning.
While Air Force choppers have been deployed to douse the fire, the flames represent a bigger problem that will need more than a temporary solution, says environment expert Supriya Patil of Grow-Trees.com.
The wildfire shows that we are not doing enough to protect eco-sensitive regions, she says, adding, “Every year, we see a wildfire raging through one forest or another. And every time, we are unprepared and caught off guard. This particular fire will be hard to douse quickly as the state is already facing a water scarcity during the pre-monsoon phase and COVID-19 has monopolised most of its resources. From what I gather, the fire is advancing towards Chandmary in the Lawngtlai district and it is not hard to imagine its impact on tree population, biodiversity and wildlife.”
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Supriya says it is disheartening to see how easily wildfires spread across India’s forest belts and inflict damages that cannot be easily repaired. She adds, “Forest fires are one of the major causes behind our depleting green belt. The loss of human and animal lives, plant species, and animal habitat are all caused more often than not by man-made causes and negligence. These need to be curbed. We can see a marked decline in the green cover in the North-Eastern states and a massive contributing factor to that is the shifting cultivation process. Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which a plot of land is cultivated temporarily, then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored.”
Patil further informs that forest fires can also be caused by uncontrolled burning during land clearance for shifting cultivation. This practice also impacts the health of forest land.
According to officials, forest fires broke out in at least five districts- Lunglei, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, and Siaha, in the southern part of the state, and Serchhip district in central Mizoram prompting the state government to seek help. However, no human casualty has been reported so far.
Over 450 incidents of fire have been reported in Mizoram since early 2019 claiming at least seven lives and injuring 11, fire statistics recorded by the fire and emergency services of the state home department said. According to data by PTI, at least 459 fire incidents were reported from January, 2019 to March, 2021 of which 346 were forest fires.
Fire and Emergency Services director C Lalthanmawia said that the number of forest fire is comparatively high this year against last year.
While 50 forest fires were reported between January and March last year, the figure reached 133 in the first three months this year, he said. He added, the practice of slash and burn (jhum) cultivation was the main cause of forest fires in the state. At present, there are 14 fire stations across the state and the government is making efforts to set up new fire stations in three new districts- Hnahthial, Saitual, and Khawzawl, Lalthanmawia said.
Tags: #climate, #covid-19, #fire, #forest, #getgreengetgrowing, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #Mizoram, #nature, #Pollution, #wildlife
