When we were going up the slopes of Lansdowne. It was beautiful. And very hot! I usually see the positive in things but here for some reason I saw the river dried below. I felt the trees were being tortured in the hot sun just like we were.
I surmised, we should do something to make this place better. And Prakhar said- You cannot better nature. Nature is the best.
I could not find a fault with this argument. Nature is perfect!
But still, I could not even be convinced that there was nothing more to be done here.
The next day, we were taking a walk at night, we saw some orange lights at a distance. There was also smoke. We were confused whether they were lights. Or if it was a fire. But we decided they were lights and the smoke was from some other source, for how could there be a fire that big!
We went back to our hotel and asked the man at the reception – if what we saw was a fire! And to our utter surprise, it was. And it appeared they were pretty common. He said– Ye to kuch bhi nahi hai, aapko May-June mein dekhna chahiye !. There are even bigger ones.
Although the thought of fires haunted us for some time, there was little we could do!
The next day, we were to visit Tarkeshwar temple. And we saw many fires on our way. Travelling on roads where there was fire on the roadside and around us scared us.
I couldn't help but wonder, if we could have houses and hotels in this terrain, if we could lay electricity grid and power lines here, if we could make the internet reach these areas– how difficult could dousing a fire be?
We discussed possible solutions like spraying water on them, fire extinguishers and how or why could they be difficult to implement. And even more, why the hell no one cared.
The answer was simple. Just like no one cares about pollution, population, or corruption. We have learnt to live with it. However for us, forest fires were a first, so they came as a shock.
Feeling helpless, we tried to get the number of forest guards to complain. Surprisingly no one seemed to have one or they seemed reluctant to share it. Neither the cab driver nor the hotel manager.
I knew when I will be back in Delhi, I would not get time to think about this, let alone do something about it. It would be left as another box to tick in my wish list to check.
But this convinced me we definitely have work to do. Whether or not we are bettering nature or just helping ourselves is immaterial. I am not sure if natural forest fires help these forests or mountain ecosystems. Or if they are good in moderation.
If such a dry and hot temperature is good for this ecosystem or for any ecosystem. I have some questions to ask and till I have reason to believe otherwise, I believe we have work to do.
Probably after we can make Electric vehicles instead of diesel, ban plastic and improve waste management in these areas, we need to think about having some sustainable source of irrigation in summer months in mountains and a service as fast as Google to douse forest fires when they occur.
We as humans should be caretakers of this planet, not its destroyers. And I as a person should do more than just write and talk about things. -:(
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