news details |
|
|
| Off-roaders, YouTubers criticized for damaging forests | | “Not allowing Off-roading,” claim forests officials | |  Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 25: A Srinagar based Off-roading club and few YouTubers have come under sharp criticism after pictures and videos, showing them causing damages to forests and meadows in North and Central Kashmir went viral on social media sites.
The netizens called out the Off-roading club and YouTubers for showing insensitive attitude towards the environment. The netizens shared pictures of the Off-roading club showing vehicles parked in lush green meadows and cross streams. “This is a massacre. Why is the forest department allowing you to ruin our forests in the name of off-roading,” they captioned pictures with anger.
Early Times has learnt from sources that the off-roading club was going deep inside the forests without seeking proper permission from the competent authority of the Forest Department. They claimed that this influential club was even going to even ‘unstable’ areas where off-roading is completely prohibited.
Early Times spoke to several officials in the Forest Department who expressed ignorance about the off-roading activity taking place in their respective jurisdiction. They even claimed that they don’t know what is the procedure for permitting such activities?
However Divisional Forest Officer Budgam Mohammad Ashraf Katoo said that he doesn’t permit off-roading activity in those areas which aren’t fit for this activity. “Twice or thrice they (off-roading club) sought permission and once I turned down their request as the area they were willing to go isn’t fit for the activity,” he said.
The DFO said that the off-roading club is supposed to seek permission and use those roads which we use to extract timber from forests. “Driving through meadows and dense forests is prohibited,” he added.
A senior official at the Forest Department told Early Times that trespassing in forest areas is violation of Indian Forest Act and must be dealt with sternly.
DFO Tangmarg told Early Times that off-roaders go to Gulmarg while using macadamized roads and security forces don’t allow them to go inside forests. However he doesn’t know that off-roading has taken place recently in lesser known Nagin Valley Gulmarg. A picture shared by the YouTuber, showing a group of young men, lighting a fire near an old tree inside the forest also came under sharp criticism.
“Starting a fire under a tree inside a dense forest is putting the entire area under danger. A single spark is enough to ignite a huge blaze,” Shafat Mir, noted mountaineer and Journalist from Anantnag, wrote on Facebook.
He advised youth to learn do’s and don’ts from the internet before taking up any trekking trip. Netizens urged the forest department to come up with a policy and stop people who damage forests. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
