Apr 19, Kathmandu- The fire that broke out in the community forest of Simalchaur in Mangala Rural Municipality-2 of Myagdi since the night of Baisakh 5 has not yet been brought under control.

Yaman Nepali, a doctor at Darbang Hospital in West Myagdi, informed that due to the fires in five community forests in the district including Simalchaur, diseases such as eye pain, chest burning, cold and fever, and asthma have increased due to the pollution of the environment.

According to him, now more than 30 patients are found suffering from air pollution every day. From Chaitra to the first week of Baisakh, more than 2000 hectares of forest area has been damaged due to fire in more than 75 community forests of Myagdi. Health workers have said that after the forest fire, the environment has become toxic due to smoke and cold, and the number of illnesses has also increased.

Due to the fire in the forest, hundreds of small and large trees and plants have been burnt, as well as valuable herbs, wild animals and other forest products have been destroyed. With the onset of the stormy season in Myagdi, fire incidents are happening daily in the headquarters Beni and various places. The statistics of the Division Forest Office show that fire has damaged an area of 10 hectares to 150 hectares in the community forest.

Similarly, around 80 hectares of forest has been damaged due to a fire in Niskot, Upper Darbang area of West Myagdi, according to the Division Forest Office. According to the office, it is difficult to put out the fire because of the geographical difficulty and the steep forest.

Generally, there are more fires in dry and summer season, but in Myagdi, Pakho Danda and forest are set on fire for the sake of green grass, said Bishnu Prasad Adhikari, Head of Division Forest Office. "This year there was a lot of fire damage in Myagdi, fires are caused by human negligence", the official said. According to him, since the effects of human-caused fires are long-lasting, natural resources are being destroyed in the greed of grass.

For fire control, the Division Forest Office has been carrying out activities such as materials management with various equipment, manpower mobilization and other activities with a budget of Rs 10 lakh under various headings. The statistics of wildfires set in the forest have also been sent to the Forest Directorate of Gandaki Province.

He says that the fire has also caused environmental pollution. He said that due to the geographical location, even other human resources, including locals, could not reach the remote areas of the district due to indiscriminate burning.