About 40 hectares of forest wealth was destroyed due to fire in Junga area

About 40 hectares of government forest property has been damaged due to fire in the forest adjoining Junga. While people’s grasslands were destroyed by the fire. Countless animals lost their lives by getting scorched in the forest fire.
Forest Range Officer Koti Range Rupendra Sharma said that prima facie about forty hectares of government forest property has been damaged in four forest beats of this range, in which ten hectares of damage has been caused per beat due to arson in Karoli Beat, Malancheel Beat, Mudaghat and Jegheri Bagh Beat. In all these beats, Cheel forests have been burnt to a large extent.
Similarly, social worker Durga Singh Thakur of Khil village and head of Nari Sangathan Yog Maya Sharma told that two Gaushalas in Khil village and the temple of Mata Bhimakali in village Pazhatt Kaneri of Padhechi Panchayat were destroyed due to fire. Durga Singh Thakur says that for the last three days, fire started from Ashwani Khad along with Junga which reached the forest of Koti via the adjoining villages Chakhra, Khil Kajewada, Kiyun, Dochi, Kohana. He says that the local people are engaged in extinguishing the fire day and night. In Khil village, the Gaushala of a person named Sunil was burnt. All the grasslands of the farmers were destroyed. Apple orchards of many people have been damaged. Durga Singh Thakur said that a large number of wild animals are lying dead in the forest.
It should be noted that despite the advisory issued by the forest department, miscreants have damaged the forest wealth by setting fire at many places. RO Koti said that the forest department has sent an advisory to the panchayats. He said that there is a provision in the Indian Penal Code to register a criminal case for deliberately setting fire in the forests. Apart from this, if any person sets fire on his own within one hundred meters of the forest land, he can be fined Rs. five thousand.