| Green Gold goes up in flames in Uri areas, authorities unmoved | | | S Tahir-ul Haq
Early Times Report
BARAMULLA, Feb 28: It is a common phenomenon that houses or shops are gutted in a fire, but the trend has changed as forests are being put on fire for self interests. Massive fire has broken out in green forests of Upper Uri and Bijhama area of this border town.
Sources said that for the past two days heavy fire broke has been going on in the forest area at Lachipora, Bijhama and upper reaches of Uri town.
"There are dozens of villages in Boniyar tehsil were smuggling of forests is going on unabated. Such things are going on at Barnate, Bijhama, Braripora, Dudran, Ijara, Gagarhal, Limber, Machikarund, Salasaan, Trikanjan and Chottali. In the Uri tehsil timber smuggling is going on in Charunda, Dardkote, Gingal, Jabla, Mooriyan, Nambla, Saidpora, Shadra and Thajal villages," sources told Early Times.
Sources said that the intensity of fire was enough to describe the pace at which timber smuggling is going on in both the tehsils of Uri town as the concerned department is 'hand in glove' with the timber smugglers.
"These green forests provide us with a huge amount of different medicine material. Important amounts of the drugs are extracted from these forests and the majority of drugs can be used to fight cancer are coming from there as well," said a local resident of Uri.
Yet another resident of Uri said that it is an environmental catastrophe that locals are being involved in the timber smuggling business, adding that some of these forests are very old and virtually irreplaceable.
"Deforestation has been going on for decades and is intimately correlated with population growth. Besides colonization, smugglers cut trees to increase land for agriculture and pasture, as well as to produce timber for heating, construction and other material," said the local.
The local said that Kashmir is no more a 'paradise on earth' since the forest cover has vanished with the flora and fauna of the Uri area also getting vanished. The forest mafia consisting of influential people enjoys full patronage of politicians and corrupt forest officials.
"Though it is unclear as what caused the fire, but one thing is very clear that green gold were deliberately put on fire due to various reasons. Action under law should be taken against the concerned department for their negligence and callous attitude by remaining out of reach," sources alleged.
Sources said that if the fire incidents go on at the same pace then it is quite possible that all the green gold in Jammu and Kashmir would vanish in few years. |
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