Plan on pine needles back on table as wildfire season peaks

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand forest department has again mulled over the idea of utilising combustible pine needles with the onset of wildfire season from February 15 this year.

The department looks into possibilities of using the needles, which often trigger forest fires during the summer season, in manufacturing briquettes -blocks of compressed coal dust or peats used as fuel -- thermal energy and incense sticks.

The question arises -- what did the department do last year when combating wildfires was a challenge?

“They did nothing. They neither prepared a plan for utilisation of needles post fire season last year nor created new fire lines. The officers are still working on traditional fire lines that exist since the time of Britishers,” said Dinesh Pandey, Haldwanibased wildlife activist.

More than 4500 hectare forest cover was gutted in fire last year.

The spread was so much that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was engaged, and even choppers were used to sprinkle water. Pandey reported irregularities in the Haldwani forest division by posting pictures of fire left unattended, people smoking near the Corbett reserve and others. “Despite giving information to the head of forest force (HoFF), no action was taken,” he said. In October last year, the department tried to work on a plan in association with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee for manufacturing coal from needles, but the effort was given up owing to collection, transportation and manufacturing costs involved. “Practically, we don’t have funds to utilise needles. Whether we take the initiative or a private player, everything has a cost involved and we are not in a financial position presently to go ahead with any plan related to utilisation of dry leaves,” said RK Mahajan, head of forest force.