The Kalka-Shimla mountain railway which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site was partially damaged by the surging forest fires near Solan in Himachal Pradesh. The movement of rail cars and toy trains on the narrow gauge railway track has been stopped for the time being. The Pine and Oak forests are under fire at number of places in Solan district. Due to a severe heat and no rains from few days the fire was spreading in vast area of Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts, confirmed the State Forest Department officials.
The fire began from the ITI campus at the district headquarters of Sirmaur at Nahan and has spread into a radius of more than 5 kms. Forest wealth of millions of rupees has been destroyed in these jungles and it is yet to be brought under control. Although the State Forest Department has issued formal orders to douse the flames immediately yet no officials could be seen at work anywhere in Nahan, said the locals who are now worried about their houses and cowsheds in vicinity of these forests.
The human habitations would also come under threat if timely action is not taken by the Forest and Fire departments of the State, they said.
The fire from the forest also reached near Pine Grove School at Kasauli in Solan but it was controlled in time, said the officials.
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh told media persons that forest fires are not a new phenomenon and he is observing them every year since his childhood. Calling it a common site in summers he said the fires are also manmade and it could be more this year because of scanty rains and excess temperatures. For the good growth of grass and animal fodder the villagers set the forest lands under the Chir Pine plantations on fire themselves and sometimes it does become a threat to their own habitations, he said. The State Forest and Fire departments are very well equipped to deal with this situation, he added while adding that it is not a disaster as yet.
Although there are around 519 small and big forest fires going on in the hill State yet it has not taken the dangerous proportions like that of neighbouring Uttarakhand, said the State Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri. He said his ministry has declared a high alert in the hill State on the forest fires and the government is trying to use satellite imageries for tracing the instigation of fires at various places.
Meanwhile the movement on the Shimla-Kalka rail track has been restored by late evening today, Mr. Surendra Parmar, traffic inspector, informed The Hindu .
