SHIMLA: As many as 90 child-orphans including 20 tiny tots in 0-6 age group and their animal neighbours of Tutti Kandi zoo on Sunday faced terrible time for over two days.

The inmates faced smoldering forest fire in the Chir pine Jungle of the Tutti Kandi in the heart of the capital city of Shimla.

The forest fires have been scorching hill horizons red. The thick smog enveloped the city-scape, so was the case with other areas of jungles that continue to burn and smolder not only in Himachal, but also in hills of Uttarakhand.       

According to the residents the fire started from the lower Tutti kandi  area yesterday and continue to smolder throughout the day today burning the green forest in the city.

The fire reached Bal Ashram at Tutti Kandi, where 72 orphans girls  along with other  20 other kids in the 0-6 age group are lodged for care by  the government. There was panic all around and the girls of the Ashram showed courage and climbed the tanks and made efforts to douse  the fire. 

Inmates were evacuated from the Ashram by the administration. Locals made frantic efforts to prevent the spread of fire to the Ashram and Zoo. The Fire Brigade could not reach the spot as the road from Tutti Kandi Bus stand was not wide enough to ply the fire tenders downhill.

The teams of district administration and  fire brigade reached the spot in the morning as soon as they were alerted. Considering the threat of the smoldering fire to the inmates, they shifted the children to the safer place in Shimla and Baldeyan Ashram.  

But the animal caged in the Tutti Kandi zoo were not that lucky. These animals including bear, leopard and other animals and birds spent terrible time for the last 24 hours due to the fire near their habitat.

These children and caged animals breathed smoke throughout the day as plumes of smoke enveloped the city throughout the day.    

In the evening hours, the brief shower of rain came as a heaven-sent angel that broke the intensity of the fire. The shower helped preventing the spread of fire to the surrounding forests. This helped the fire-fighting teams to control the fire in the evening.

Tutti Kandi Fire is not  a Stray Incident  

From Tutti Kandi to Dadru in Dharamshala, from Urla in Mandi to Kau  and Deya  in Chopal  forest division in Shimla, the forests mainly pines continue to burn due to the forest fires. The two months long dry summer spell has created drought like situation in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand virtually adding fuel to the fire.

According to the forest department, over 4000 hectares of forest areas  worth Rs 85 lakhs has been burnt in over 720 incidents of the forest fires in Himachal till the end of April this year alone.

Fire Watcher Died in Uttarakhand

Not only this, a Forest Fire Watcher Died in Uttarakhand while fighting the flames.  The engagement of village community is essential for conservation and protection of forests in the Himalayan region, says Anoop Nautiyal, who runs in NGO in Uttarakhand. He has urged Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami to find reasons behind  forest fires and the death of the fire watcher. 

The forest fires continue to burn forests in the Himalayan Region. This has proved that all talks of fighting or preventing forest fires are held in closed-door seminars and workshops. Nothing much is happening on the ground to spot and prevent the forest fires in the state.

Villagers' Alienation from Forests 

The villagers blamed the forest department for the forest fires and their “alienation from the forests”.

Second, the department and the state governments raised chir pine jungles mainly in lower Shiwalik in their bid to increase green cover in the state, the villagers said.

The department did so as chir grows even on barren land where nothing can grow. The chir pines have the highest survival rates. Lately, Van Mahotsavs are trying different native species.

But the chir forest floor is susceptible to the forest fire due to the presence of its dropped highly fissile dry pine needles that catch fire quickly.

The fire is difficult to control once it flares up, with the dry months adding fuel to fire every year.

Time was when villagers were the first responders to the forest fires in the good old days. They would volunteer themselves to put out fires whenever these were triggered off.

They used to do so because they always considered themselves as the part of the forest ecosystem and its actual stakeholders. They used to pick dry needles for domestic purpose.   

But the scene has changed dramatically now. The villagers and “local communities no longer treat themselves as the part of forests”.

Now an all-powerful forest department is “supreme commander of the forests”. Now no villager dares to pick up fuel wood, cut a green tree, shrub or so from the forests and even from their private land without permission”.

But even then, it is another thing that the timber smuggling or herbal plunder still flourish in jungles of Himachal Pradesh under the nose of forest department.

Forest Survey says that the green cover of Himachal has gone up over the years, but so is the case with forest fires.  Lakhs of species of plants, trees, herbs, saplings,  shrubs and animals and birds virtually go up in smoke every year in the devastating forest fires.

Talks of Fire Prevention Go Up in Smoke  

Forest watch towers, clearing up of forest floor from pines needles, fire lines and forest management village committees, all are as good as defunct in most fire-sensitive jungles in the state.

As a result, the forests continue to be plundered by both fires and mafias. The village communities have been alienated from the forests.

They look upon the forests as something that could be looted or plundered as these are owned by the government, not by them as was the case earlier, said a senior village Nambardar.

It is now rarely that the villagers volunteer themselves to spot or douse the fire whenever it breaks out. There are few cases, where the villagers would come forward to keep the fire out and they belongingness to forest still exists.  

No doubt, climate change has brought about awareness among people to protect forests and green cover in the state for a better and healthy future.

But the forest management remains city-centric. From Choordhar to Pin valley and Great Himalayan National park Kullu, the forest areas are opened for human interference in the name of ecotourism.    

Silver Lining: No fire in Syahi Devi Forest in Uttarakhand

A 7000 hectare forest in Syahi Devi Sitlakhet region in Almora in Uttarakhand has shown an example how to protect forest. There has been been no forest fire in Syahi Devi over the decades. Reason: Locals and Forest work in unison to protect the protest.    

Restore Villagers-Forests  Symbiotic Relationship 

The symbiotic relationship existed among villagers, animals, forests and rivers in the past. Today it is a big challenge for all Green planners and Green champions to restore this relationship to its good old pristine green glory. The saving grace is that most of the fires in Himachal are ground fires, not the cataclysmic canopy fires.   

The villagers need come close to the forests. The Forest department needs to work with the village communities and treat and respect them as actual stakeholders of forests.  

The survival of people of Himalaya is inseparably linked to survival of forests and its flora and fauna, its glaciers and rivers.   The fire mongers should be brought to book to save green cover of Himalaya.