Carelessness Turns Catastrophic in Kashmir’s Forests

By Dr Muhammad Sameer Shafi Siddiqui

From the past few days, forest fires have erupted in many parts of the Valley, most particularly in the multifarious compartments of Lidder Forest Division in South Kashmir. These fires have created a huge concern among the people living adjacent to these forests and also among the environmentalists and nature lovers alike. Although dry weather conditions and scanty snowfall during winters provide an essential backdrop for comprehending the phenomenon, yet the most intriguing question in the minds of all those concerned with preservation and conservation of our forests pertains to the simultaneity of these fires at multiple yet isolated locations with large distances to traverse in between; a phenomenon that has seldom been witnessed in the past.

Anyways, a huge mass of pine needles and cones gets accumulated in our forests throughout the year, thus forming a thick layer on the ground. Due to precipitation, the substratum of this layer alongside the soil beneath remains moist and eventually the moist foliage gets decomposed under the weight of newly formed layers of pine needles. But when dry, this thick layer of pine needles on ground sprinkled with highly inflammable raisin dripping down the coniferous trees has high vulnerability of catching fire, and even a meagre negligence or mischief on someone’s part can wreak a havoc within the vast stretches of the forest cover. So the most important thing to remember while visiting the forests is to keep combustibles away from vulnerable patches of the woods.

It has been observed that there is a growing trend of youngsters visiting forests for adventure and recreational purposes. While doing so they often light up the bonfires in the forests and when they are done, they negligently leave the fire burning which has maximum potential of being converted into a fullscale forest fire.

In dry weather conditions like these, even a burning cigarette bit left over negligently can result in the wildfire which could be very difficult to contain later on. Unfortunately, we often come across the spectacle that how during picnics and family outings people often leave behind the litter mostly plastics scattered all around the forests which further adds to the vulnerability of forest fires and deterioration of our already fragile ecosystem.  No doubt a little bit of moral consciousness and environmental awareness on our part can create a huge difference by way of saving these precious natural and environmental resources.

In this context, we the so-called literates and cosmopolitans must take lessons from the Gujjar, Bakerwaal and Chopan communities that how inspite of living in or adjacent to the forests for centuries together, these people have tried to conserve their natural settings in a much better way.

One more factor, albeit a lesser known one as regards the forest fires is the belief or experience of some people that cedars and mushrooms grow much better in the moist ashes of burnt pine needles during the rainy nights accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning. Thus to make bucks out of it, they occasionally set pine needles and bushes to fire in the upper reaches of our forests which can eventually lead to wildfires.

In a way we can say that human greed and insatiable lust for wealth too is one of the prime causes for these calamities and therefore some semblance of moral and responsible social behaviour on our behalf can prove to be of great help in minimising these disasters.

One important factor which minimised the otherwise hectic efforts undertaken by the forest employees to contain the recent fires pertains to the lack of proper equipments. My personal observations while dousing the flames in the company of Khanqah e Hydari volunteers alongside the forest department officials in the forests of our vicinity was that all of us were fighting the fire with bare hands and traditional agricultural implements. Government needs to enhance the budgetary efficiency of the department so that it may procure useful and modern gadgets like co₂ cylinders and much more to deal with such kinds of eventualities.

Community involvement is also necessary so that people living adjacent to forests may play their role in the preservation and protection of our forests. Even religious leaders have a role to play by way of educating masses that religious obligations are not restricted to mere formal acts of worship. Our consciousness towards maintaining ecological balance and preserving the resources that God has created for the benefit of the entire humanity too needs to be included in their religious discourses. Likewise social media users in general and professional media personnel in particular too have their role to play for making a lasting impact upon the society vis a vis our collective responsibility for preserving our forests.

Last but not least, we the Kashmiris in the capacity of being the inheritors of our rich spiritual legacy must ponder upon the fact that these forests have from times immemorial served as spiritual retreats for our sages and Rishis. Our village mendicants, friars and Rishis have always pondered upon the vexed problems of Being and Existence in the din of these woods and that is why the refrain “Haa faqeero saani janglich lai chayo” still reverberates in our hearts and minds. We the inheritors of our rich Rishi legacy must bear witness to the words of wisdom by our patron saint Nund Rishi wherein he says “Ann poshi teli yeli wann poshi” means “Food is subservient to the preservation of forests.”

• The author is a reputed scholar based out of South Kashmir. Views expressed in this article are author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect KO’s editorial policy.

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