With as many as three forest fire incidents reported over a span of two weeks at Taljai hill, area residents and environmentalists have raised concerns over the security lapses that led to these incidents and the forest department’s lack of preparedness in containing these occurrences.
Three separate forest fire incidents occurred at Taljai Hill on February 6, 9 and 14, affecting the local vegetation and biodiversity, especially native species. As per official data, nearly one hectare forest area at Taljai hill has been charred by forest fire incidents that have taken place since January this year. The forest department has registered cases against unknown persons for causing the fires at Taljai hill.
Lokesh Bapat, a member of the ‘Tell Us’ organisation, recalled, “My wife and me were walking near Taljai hill when we saw the fire. We immediately informed the range forest officer for Taljai hill. Soon, the range forest officer reached the spot. Joint efforts by the forest department staff and citizens helped douse the fire within a short period of time. However, when we asked about the fire extinguisher which our organisation had given to the forest department earlier, the officials were unaware of the whereabouts of the equipment. There is shortage of forest department staff at Taljai hill. Moreover, no water facility is available nearby. Fortunately, the team managed to douse the fire.”
Manoj Barbole, range forest officer, Pune forest department, revealed, “A common method used to start a fire at Taljai hill involves burning an incense stick and a nearby string before walking away. It takes about 20 to 25 minutes for the incense stick to burn out and the grass to catch fire. By that time, the person who started the fire is far away. Since the grass catching fire goes unnoticed initially, the flames spread further. The dry grass helps the fire to spread and grow larger.”
While the dust from the Taljai hill fire incidents is yet to settle, another major fire incident was reported in the hills near Katraj on Saturday, February 15.
Whereas members of the Sinhagad fort joint forest management committee (JFMC) raised concerns over the inadequate manpower and lack of fire equipment. Apparently, four forest fire incidents have occurred in the Sinhagad fort area in the past one month. Forest department officials said they have initiated an investigation based on CCTV footage to find out the persons responsible for these incidents.
About the allegations levelled by the members of the Sinhagad JFMC, Deepak Pawar, assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Pune forest department, said, “In January, we received a proposal from the committee demanding various things including fire extinguishers but we asked them to revise the proposal after reviewing the quotations. The approval will be given once the revised proposal is submitted and it matches the forest department guidelines.”
“The department has purchased sufficient fire extinguishers for all forest ranges and there is no shortage of fire extinguishers. Moreover, the department has also recruited people on a contractual basis, who are trained in managing forest fire incidents,” Pawar said.
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Major forest fire at Katraj
A major forest fire incident was reported in the hills near Katraj Saturday evening. Forest officials along with the fire department’s help managed to douse the fire. However, it took hours and the operation was still in progress early morning Sunday. Suresh Varak, range forest officer, Pune forest department, said, “It was a major fire and we are still in the process of estimating the losses and exactly how much area was affected in this incident. It is possible the fire was manmade as the site was close to the main road. A case will be registered and we will pursue the case further once all the information is collected.”
