The forest fire, which started from the Khaskush area of the park, has already spread to Deukhari and Ambash areas and to some other parts of the park also. The forest fire has caused huge damage in the Khaskush, Kanchanpur, Mahadevpuri, Chisapani. Hattishar and Khadakwar areas. [break]
"Even though the park is equipped with sufficient resources and manpower to combat the fire, they haven´t taken any initiatives to do so," complained a local of Kohalpur VDC-5, Bhim Bahadur Dhagi.
Officials of the community forests working in a team have been controlling the spread of the fire all this time. A fire control network has also been formed inside the park.
Chairperson of Kanchanpur Fire Control Network Kesab Dangi said that they have been using fire lines to control the spread of fire inside their nine community forests. "When it comes to coping with fire outbreaks, we work hand in hand with the police and fire brigade. It´s team work all the way," said Dangi.
"But the park officials are always missing from our salvage missions. If they don´t drop this attitude of apathy, locals dependent on the forests will have to pay a huge price in the coming days," added Dangi.
There are 104 community forests and 51 Buffer Zone Community Forest Organizations in the district.
Meanwhile, assistant conservationist at the park Birendra Kadel said they don´t have enough resources to tackle the forest fire, which is occuring in the Chure region. Difficult accessibility has been a major hindrance for us," he said.
Chief of Banke District Forest Office Tirtha Raj Jaishi said they have been educating the locals about forest fires and ways of controlling them on time.
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