Tangmarg: Residents and environmentalists in Tangmarg and Gulmarg are alarmed as a significant number of young pine (Kail or Kairoo) trees have mysteriously dried up in the region’s forests, with their foliage turning brown and dry.
The affected areas include the forest ranges of Gogaldara, Baderkote, Ferozpora and Gulmarg, where hundreds of trees have dried up, perhaps owing to some disease, raising concerns about an impending ecological disaster.
The presence of such a huge number of dried pines in these forest areas is like tinder just waiting for a chance to light up, experts say.
They suspect that prolonged dry weather conditions during the past several months might be a contributing factor, as the lack of moisture in the soil has weakened the trees. However, some people opine that a mysterious disease might have affected the trees, causing them to dry up.
They warn that this situation could escalate into large-scale forest fires, endangering the entire forest cover as well as the human habitations in the vicinity of these forests.
Local residents are demanding an urgent intervention by the Forest department, urging officials to send expert teams to the affected compartments to ascertain the cause of the “tree deaths”.
Mushtaq Ahmad, a local resident, expressed concern, saying, “We have never seen such a situation before. If authorities do not act quickly, we could witness massive fires that will destroy our forests and homes.”
Interestingly, while Kail trees are drying up, other conifer species such as Deodar and Budloo remain green, adding to the mystery.
A top forest expert attributed the phenomenon to the region’s unusually low rainfall and snowfall this season. “Lack of moisture in the soil is a critical factor. Additionally, water-logging in forested areas can also lead to tree decay and drying up of pine trees,” the expert explained.
However, the fear of a potential catastrophe looms large among the people, who recall similar incidents in north Kashmir, where forest fires have wreaked havoc in recent years. Many residents are drawing comparisons to wildfire disasters in Los Angeles and are urging authorities to take preventive measures to avoid such calamities.
Repeated attempts to contact Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Gulmarg, Ishtiyaq Tanga, for comments and confirmation about sending an expert team were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls or text messages.
With concerns rising and fears of a potential disaster growing, locals are urging the Forest department to act swiftly and implement proactive measures to prevent a catastrophic forest fire in the region.
Another resident, Bashir Khan, added, “We need immediate attention from the authorities. Our forests are our lifeline, and their destruction will have a devastating impact on our environment and livelihoods.”
When contacted, Chief Conservator of Forests, Irfan Rasool Wani, downplayed the situation, saying, “It is normal in some forests. As a survival mechanism, pine trees turn brown in winter due to stress, such as
low moisture content in the soil.”
