Aarey Colony sees fewer forest fires this year

Until recently, the forest department had no role to play in fire management at Aarey, but it has now become an active partner after the notified forest area of Aarey Colony was handed over to them by the dairy department in June 2021.

Mumbai: Aarey Colony has seen 16 forest fires this year, as compared to 27 forest fires between January 1 and March 11, 2021, according to data provided by the fire department. Officials involved in responding to fire incidents in Aarey Colony also said that this year, the extent of damage caused by these fires has also been restricted to a much smaller area.

As per data collected by citizen volunteers, Aarey Colony saw at least 48 forest fire incidents between January and April 2021. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Until recently, the forest department had no role to play in fire management at Aarey, but it has now become an active partner after the notified forest area of Aarey Colony was handed over to them by the dairy department in June 2021. However, the handover was done during the monsoon, after the peak of the annual fire season.

As per data collected by citizen volunteers, Aarey Colony saw at least 48 forest fire incidents between January and April 2021.

On March 16 last year, HT had reported environmentalists’ concerns over fire management practices in Aarey, where over 800 acres of land have been declared as reserved forest under Section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, as compared to SGNP, which sees much fewer instances of forest fires.

“This year, we have appointed about four to five firewatchers across Aarey during the day, and there are another eight to ten firewatchers stationed in the area at night. So far, we have responded to about eight small fires without the fire department’s help. But this year, we have also had a long winter and there was also some rain in January, which could mean that the dry season is a bit delayed,” said Sharat Dhuri, round officer (Aarey), forest department.

Hemant Parab, chief fire officer, Mumbai fire brigade, “There has been a marked improvement in forest fires in Aarey this year because of the involvement of local volunteers and the forest department, which is now one of the area’s custodians.”

He further said that the fire department has received requests from citizens to restart the old, defunct fire station in Aarey. “It is a legitimate demand, but we can consider it only if we receive a proposal on the same from either the forest or dairy departments,” Parab added.