The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Forest fires in Vellore hills spark off public concern

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Forest fires in Vellore hills spark off public concern

Special Correspondent

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

NOT A PLEASANT SIGHT: Thick smoke emanating from a forest fire on the hills of Sathuvachari near Vellore on Thursday.

VELLORE: Come summer, and forest fires start raging in the hills stretching along the southern side of the Chennai-Bangalore National Highway from Sathuvachari near Vellore to Vaniyambadi.

Last year and the year before, there were recurring fires in the hills, most of which were man-made. The inhabitants in the hill villages set fire to the `manjam pul' (lemon grass) stubs after harvest in the belief that the burning of the stubs would lead to a luxurious growth of the crop in the next season. This grass is used as thatch for huts in the villages.

The Exnora Green Cross (EGC), Vellore, and the Forest Department took a lot of steps to prevent fires in the hills in and around Vellore, such as the establishment of the Indian Green Force (IGF) — a band of uniformed employees of EGC who keep a check on fires — and policing the hills through the forest watchers and guards. But, these steps have not been effective, as could be seen from the latest fires in the hills in Vellore.

The public feel that with the hills in Vellore being mostly barren, the efforts of EGC and the Forest Department in planting trees and afforesting the hills would be set at nought if stringent steps were not taken to prevent the fires. These fires have been noticed in the last one week. With summer to follow in the coming weeks, the fires would consume the forests resulting in the rising of the temperature in Vellore, if permanent steps were not taken to prevent the fires.

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