E-Paper
Frequent fire incidents on Tukai hill a threat to flora-fauna
With a goal of enriching Tukai tekdi with biodiversity, a few residents of Baner started the work of the organisation in 2006
Two separate fire incidents were reported in the last three days on the Tukai tekdi, located in Baner. In both these fire incidents combined, more than 100 planted trees have suffered serious damage.
Vasundhara Abhiyan Baner (VAB), an NGO which is working for conserving the biodiversity on the hill had planted these trees over the period of 14 years.
“Half of these damaged trees will not survive. We lose 300-350 saplings each year due to such fire incidents. We remove the dead tree from the compound and then plant another one in that hole. Our volunteers have worked really hard to plant these trees. Everyday more than 100 volunteers of Vasundhara Abhiyan Baner work on this hill to make it greener. But such incidents destroy years of our hard work in a few minutes,” said Pandurang Bhujbal, member Vasundhara Abhiyan Baner.
With a goal of enriching Tukai tekdi with biodiversity, a few residents of Baner started the work of the organisation in 2006.
In the last 14 years, the network of volunteers has planted approximately 26,000 trees on the hill which include 450 various species of the plants. VAB has a network of more than 1,000 volunteers. They devote their time to this cause as per their convenience.
“We all have jobs and our own businesses. We have volunteers across all age groups. When we see a burnt tree, our heart aches,” said Sanjay Murkute, member, VAB.
The reason behind these fires is not clear, however, officials believe a human intervention sets the dry grass on fire and then it spreads over the hill.
“Such fires are man-made. If a person throws or leaves a lightly burnt cigarette bud in the dry grass, it may cause a fire. People should avoid smoking on the hill,” said Guruswamy Tumale, assistant garden superintendent, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
“There has been a court case regarding the ownership of the land on the hill. So, we can’t intervene after a point. We are doing all we can. To avoid such incidents we try to create public awareness for the conservation of the trees,” Tumale added.
Locals of this area say that such fire incidents are not new on the Tukai hill. They accuse the authorities of negligence.
“We saw fire on the hill at around 10.30am on Wednesday; I attribute the increased instances of fires on hills of Pune to rampant dumping and burning of garbage and miscreants. The forest department and PMC have failed completely in safeguarding hills from such activity. Simple preventive measures of removing dry grass are not done by them,” said Ravindra Sinha, general secretary Baner-Pashan link road welfare trust.
He was one of the many citizens who rushed to douse the fire on the hill.
Such fire incidents adversely impact the ecosystem of the hill. “It has an immediate impact on the varieties of indigenous grass in that area. This variety declines. It also affects the insects, reptiles and the habitats of the birds,” said Dharamraj Patil, biodiversity expert.
