The lush forests of the Bhimber district of Jammu and Kashmir in the Samahni Valley of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir are in the throes of massive fire.On Monday, Pakistani Army backed Islamist terrorists had lit up a bonfire in the forest that turned into an inferno. It set fire to the lush green forests of the Tunin Block Seri Hill.The fire spread over a wide area of forests as soon after.Forest department officials, revenue department and civil society youth rushed to the spot as soon as they were informed.It was a difficult process to control the fire against extreme heat and strong wind.The fire burnt the mountain range adjacent to Samahni Headquarters Seri Hill and Dub Valley into coal. Due to the massive fire, the flora and fauna are bound to burn to ashes.The fire entered the forest from the private area from the Seri hill site. Journalists from Kashmir Press Club registered Samani also played their part in controlling the fire on the spot and assessed the damage .The fire started in the morning and remained uncontrolled till noon.The flames and smoke of the fire kept increasing. The fire increased the temperatures and the atmosphere was severely polluted. Serious circles have demanded concrete steps from the puppet government of Kashmir to protect forests from fire during the fire season.On Saturday night, some anti-environmental elements also set fire to the forests of Baghsar Kaoliyan.Due to the overnight fire, a large area of Baghsar Block was burnt to coal. While all forest blocks in the Samani Valley have been badly devastated by the fire during the fire season so far.The forest department needs to pay attention to it.
There is a lack of local research in Pakistani occupied Kashmir.The Forest Department has appealed to the public to cooperate with the department to protect the forests from fire.Officials at the department blamed the fire, which was not appropriate, for the fire without investigation. There is also a lack of fair investigation. While in Australia, the punishment for setting fire to forest is twenty one years in prison while in Pakistan the same crime is only three years in prison.Forests are the guarantee of life. Everyone has to play a role in saving it.The forest department has to give up its double standards and the people must be severely monitored and discouraged from reasonable punishments.