Ahead of New Year celebrations, the Pune forest department, in coordination with the police, will intensify vigilance across hill areas in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to prevent untoward incidents and protect forest ecosystems.
The move comes in the wake of recurring instances from previous years where groups of people have celebrated New Year’s Eve on hilltops and forested areas with loud music, alcohol consumption, smoking, and bonfires. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)
The move comes in the wake of recurring instances from previous years where groups of people have celebrated New Year’s Eve on hilltops and forested areas with loud music, alcohol consumption, smoking, and bonfires. Such activities pose a serious threat to wildlife and significantly increase the risk of forest fires, especially during the winter, said officials.
Mahadev Mohite, deputy conservator of forests, Pune division, said that the risk of forest fires has increased this year due to dense grass growth.
“This year, the grass cover is thicker as it remained green for a longer period due to prolonged rainfall. Since it has not been entirely cut, the risk of fire is much higher. Therefore, the department needs to be extremely cautious to prevent any untoward incident in forest areas. As in previous years, we will maintain strict vigilance on the hills,” he said.
Manoj Barbole, range officer, Pune forest department, said joint patrolling with the police will be undertaken to strengthen surveillance.
“We will be conducting regular patrolling on the hills and will seek assistance from the police department to reinforce our efforts. Last year, this joint initiative yielded positive results, and no major incidents were reported. We plan to implement the same strategy this year as well,” Barbole said.
For the past two years, the forest department imposed a temporary ban on public entry to hill areas between 4 pm on December 31 and 6 am on January 1 to curb risky activities. While no such restriction has been announced yet for this year, officials indicated that the final decision may be taken around December 29 or 30.
