Silchar, March 18 : The Mizoram government has placed its forest and environment department on alert following the death of four farmers in bush fires over the past week.
According to official sources, the state government has asked the department to mobilise volunteers from among peasants and other villagers to fight the sporadic outbreak of bush fires that swept across the remote areas of the state bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The principal chief conservator of forests in Mizoram, R.C. Thanga, today confirmed over phone from Aizawl that a thick pall of smoke had shrouded the sky for the last three days, almost obliterating the sun.
Thanga said over 100 bush fires were raging on the hill slopes in the rural areas of the state. He said jhum farmers ignited fire in the forests to destroy vast swathes of bushland to sow seeds of paddy, the staple food of the Mizos.The forest chief said the raging fire had killed four Mizo farmers during the past week.
They were caught in the flames fanned by strong winds sweeping across the jhum farms on the hills and dales near the villages.
Thanga said yesterday was the deadline for igniting the conflagration in the hills for facilitating rice cultivation.
The fire will take at least 10 more days to be doused.
Thanga confirmed that the villagers, with the help of forest staff, had started to clear shrubs and tiny bushes along the “fireline” earmarked by the village councils beyond which the fire was not allowed to spread.
According to reports reaching to this district headquarters town today, the villagers staying along the district’s border with Mizoram can see in the night fire burning in the hills of the adjacent state.
The sky in Cachar district is enveloped by a grey mantle ofsmoke emanating from Mizoram.
