Official ‘fire season plan’ ends in smoke

The Rawalpindi forest department's so-called “fire season plan” aimed to protect forests in four hilly tehsils of the district and Margallas this summer proved a futile exercise and failed miserably.

The incidents of incessant fires for several days have raised eyebrows about the much-touted preparation and arrangement of the forest department.

From May 1 to June 10 this year, there have been 12 incidents of forest fires spreading over a total area of 70-kilometre as compared to five fire incidents in the last three years. The forest fires burnt valuable timber worth billions of rupees. Several birds of rare species and wild animals were also burned. Other wild birds and animals have migrated from these forests to far away from dense forests.

Fires were reported in the forests of Klar Syedan, Kahuta, Kotli Satian, Panjar and Lehtar.

The forest department had declared the fire season prematurely from May 1 until July 15, but now its duration has been extended till August 15 due to the ongoing drought.

During the fire season, the forest department had decided to deploy field staff in forests, set up camp offices for officers in the forests, and provide walkie-talkies and motorcycles to employees besides imposing a ban on carrying match boxes, axes, cigarette litter, knives and saws in the forest.

The forest department had also announced the installation of closed-circuit cameras at key locations, but despite this, no camp office has been established for officers in any dense forest to date. The forest department has neither released reports about the recent fires. The department could not even explain how the fire started and why it failed to extinguish the fire on time over the last one month, the forests of Kahuta and Kotli Satian have been on fire from time to time with infernos raging for two to three days before it was brought under control.

The forest department had prepared plans to construct two to three large ponds and mini dams in each forest for the timely extinguishing of fires but not a single large pond could be built in any of the forests.

Chief Fires Officer Saqib Mehmood Sheikh had issued orders for complete cleaning of forests of Kahuta, Panjar, Kahtar, Bin, Kotli Satyan, removal of burnt trees and immediate collection and destruction of all dry leaves which cause a fire.

Forest department officials pass the bug on to people and families saying they do not extinguish fire properly when they prepare food during a picnic.

They said it burns dry leaves and the whole forest catches firs. After the fire incidents, cooking in the forest has been banned till September 30, they said.

Faisal Satti, a resident of the affected forests of Kotli Sattian, said that the timer mafia sets forests on fire to steal valuable timber. He said that that was done in the alleged collusion of the forest department officials.

The vast forest of Kotli Sattian has been burnt by fire this year, he said adding that due to the constant fire, wild animals and birds were no more found in the forest.

Khursheed Satti, another local, said that when the forest fire reached the road, the locals put it out on their own to save their homes. He said that the forest department officials were either missing or they only reached after the fire was extinguished.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2022.