PAMPORE: The Wildlife department has issued an advisory asking people not to venture into forests without permission. The advisory has been issued in view of frequent forest fires in the past couple of months.
Talking to Kashmir Reader, Wildlife Warden Altaf Hussain said that the forest fires are not natural but man-made. “One of the main reasons for the fires is that grazers set some patches of land on fire for getting fresh grass,” he said, adding that these fires then spread to other sites and become uncontrollable.
He said that it was in this context that they issued an advisory asking people not to venture inside forests without permission.
“We have already issued an advisory to all the people living in areas on forest fringes to not go inside forests without permission,” he said, adding that the advisory will be effective for one month.
Hussain clarified that people can still go into forests but they have to inform officials about their visit.
“This will help us in identifying the culprits and check the fires,” he said.
He further said that orders have been given to Range Officers to give wide publicity to the advisory through mosques, mohalla and local committees.

BILAL HABIB