Lockdown Spikes Forest Fire In Manipur

Forest is our life, why are we destroying it. Please wake up. Local people can protect our forest, not by anyone. We will face shortage of water, oxygen to breathe. Why don’t we understand? Please wake up dear NGOs and CSOS. Let’s save our life and the future,“ writes N Biren Singh, Manipur Chief Minister, on his facebook post, expressing his strong concerns on the spurt of forest fires in the state.

- Sunzu Bachaspatimayum

According to satellite data made available by the Forest Survey of India, Manipur has lost at least 3,823 hectares of forest in just 13 days, to forest fire that have occurred, between 1 April to 13 April, across the state. This is only a preliminary assessment of the damage calculated using the conventional thumbs-up of a ‘hectare lost to one case forest fire’.

As per the satellite imagery released by the forest survey of India, Ukhrul and Kamjong districts combined tops the list with 943 forest fire incidents while Churachandpur and Pherzawl rank second as the worst affected districts by the fire with 907 cases. Tengnoupal and Chandel districts clubbed together came third with 885 fire incidences. Although, ” numerically speaking, Imphal West and East districts which constitutes the central division, accounted for only 73 forest fire incidences, the intangible losses of these fire are huge revealed RK Amarjit Singh, the Divisional Forest Officer with the forest department of Manipur.