SHOPIAN: District Development Commissioner Shopian, Choudhary Mohammad Yasin, today chaired a meeting to review measures being undertaken for protection of forests from smuggling and fires in the district. The meeting was attended by the Additional District Development Commissioner, District Panchayat Officer, DFO Shopian, DM SFC, Wildlife Warden, Range Officers of the Forest Department and other concerned.
The DDC said that owing to the prevailing dry spell, the possibility of forest fires has increased manifold. He called upon the forest officers to work in a cohesive manner to pre-empt any mishap. He directed Forest Department officials to ensure round-the-clock patrolling of forest areas. He also recommended the constitution of a core group of different Forest Department wings which will conceive a joint and collaborative action plan for prevention of any such untoward incidents in the district.
To keep a check on timber smuggling, he directed for proper marking of wooden logs and ensuring night vigil of vehicles carrying timber to different depots. The DDC also called for afforestation and fencing of forest areas and directed the Soil Conservation Department to identify the vulnerable spots where land and mudslides are recurrent, so that proper measures are adopted.
Later, the DDC also reviewed the follow-up action on ‘Swachta hi Seva’ programme and directed them to make the district polythene free and aware the general masses about the ill effects of the polythene and plastic use.