Destruction of forests raises heat in north Telangana

ADILABAD: Indiscriminate felling of trees in forests of erstwhile Adilabad district during past four decades is the leading cause for extreme weather conditions in the region. People destroyed fringes of forests on a large scale hoping to get pattas for podu lands until Forest Rights Act came into force in 2005.

Huge forest cover has also been lost with new opencast mines started in Komaram Bheem Asifabad and Mancherial districts during the last 15 years.

Mirza Kareem Baig, founder of Forests and Wildlife Protection Society (FAWPS) says degradation of forests is one of the reasons for rise in temperatures, apart from global warming and climate change. He pointed out that huge forest cover around Kawal Tiger Reserve has been lost in last 30 years due to illegal felling of trees and smuggling of wood.

Incidentally, the State of Forests in India – 2021 survey report released by central government says there has been an improvement in forest cover of erstwhile Adilabad district. The forest department has also claimed officially that the district has more than 24 percent forest cover.

But, conservationists say the real forest cover may not cross 15 percent. The rest would be plantations and nurseries grown by forest department under the Haritha Haram programme.

Earlier, most villages had big trees in their agricultural fields for humans and cattle to rest. But these have been chopped off to increase cultivable land and get more profits. There used to be trees on roadsides too. But these have given way for widening of roads.

People of not only urban areas, but rural regions too are facing abnormal temperatures from the beginning of April itself, scaring people as to what would happen in May.