The fire that broke out at 5 am in the Saldanda Community Forest located in Khandachakra-4 on November 24 was brought under control at 2 pm thanks to the active efforts of locals. The fire, which was started to ensure faster growth of grass for cattle, buffaloes and sheep, destroyed 5,000 saplings planted in the forest.

The dry hill above Saldanda was about to become green. Ward Chairman of Khandachakra-4, Prabhananda Acharya, said, ‘The fire destroyed everything.’ According to him, it took 10 hours to control the fire that started on the steep slope.

On December 12, Ambika Community Forest in Sannitriveni-1 Lusa, and on December 13, Mahabaipatal Community Forest in Tilagufa Municipality-4 Rachuli, along with community forests of local levels including Khandachakra, Shubhakalika, Narharinath, Tilagufa, Palata, have caught fire. District Police Chief Him Bahadur Khatri said that locals set fire to all those forests. ‘It is a strange custom to set fire to the grass so that it grows quickly,’ he said, ‘There is no awareness among the community about the damage to forests, flora and wildlife.’ He informed that a fire is also taking place in Rachuli of Tilagufa on Wednesday.

On Chaitra 20, 50-year-old Nandaram Chaulagain and his 12-year-old daughter Hemanti, who had gone to graze goats in the Nawadurga Community Forest in Dhadgaun, Khandachakra-5, Daha Ghodena, were burned and injured. Nandaram had gone to the forest at 9 am to graze 51 goats, while his daughter Hemanti had gone to deliver lunch to her father in the afternoon. The father and daughter, who were injured in the forest fire, died during treatment in Surkhet. 45 of their goats died in the fire and 6 were injured.

Police suspect that the fire broke out when an unknown person lit a match while smoking a cigarette and threw it on the ground without extinguishing it. The police have filed a case against one person on suspicion of starting the fire, but the court has cleared him. Police Inspector Bir Bahadur Sunar said that there is a tendency to deliberately set fires in the forest in Kalikot. ‘It is customary to set fire to the grass on the edge of the forest so that it will grow faster,’ he said, ‘this is an unforgivable crime.’

Two years ago, Lalu Adan Singh Bista of Lalu and Jaipal Kami of Khandachakra-2, who had gone to cut wood after a fire broke out in the Salghari Community Forest in Narharinath-8 on the border of Kalikot and Achham, died of burns. They were injured while fleeing after the forest fire and died while being taken to Jumla for treatment. According to the District Police Office, Kalikot, in the past three years, 7 people have died and 9 have been injured in forest fires. This year alone, 15 fire incidents have occurred since Bhadra. Locals tend to set fire to the grass so that it will grow faster. This year alone, 59 animals and livestock have died due to forest fires.

Civil society leader Sadananda Timilsena said that the incidents of fire are increasing due to the lack of legal action against those who set fire to the forest. ‘It is not customary to consider setting fires in the forest a crime,’ said Timilsena, a resident of Khandachakra-5. ‘There is a tendency to conspire within the village.’ He said that the number of fire incidents has increased due to the lack of visible action against those who set fires in the Kharmela.

As fire incidents are increasing in Kalikot, awareness campaigns have been launched by various bodies. DSP Khatri said that the District Police Office has conducted 56 awareness programs under community-police partnership from 19 police posts and BITs across the district. He claims that all the police units under its jurisdiction have been instructed to immediately take action in case of fire-related incidents and to conduct awareness campaigns to prevent such incidents.

As fire can occur on the steep slopes of Kalikot, the office bearers and members of the Community Forest Users Committee have been requested over the telephone to be alert and join hands in protecting the forest, said Division Forest Chief Dharmaraj Upadhyaya. ‘Setting fires in the forest is considered normal,’ he said, ‘We are raising awareness about the legal action to be taken against those who set fires.’

According to him, there is a tendency to set fires in the forest to make the grass grow faster and to protect crops from wild animals such as wild boars, deer, monkeys and others. He informed that there are provisions for different actions against those who set fires in community forests according to the statute and action plan of the community forest, and if the group is exempted, action will be taken according to the Forest Act.

He said that the statute of the community forest user group includes rules to warn those who set fires for the first time, to fine those who cause damage to property and to remove those who set fires from the user list in some forests.

He said that since most of the terrain of Kalikot is steep and steep, extinguishing a fire is a life-threatening situation. ‘Most of the terrain is steep,’ he said, ‘it is very difficult to extinguish a fire once it starts.’

The Division Forest Office has been instructing the community forest to take action according to the statute. "We cannot take action directly," said Division Chief Upadhyay, "We have to take action as per the rules of the Community Forest Users Committee." He said that due to the collusion of the users, no action is taken against the guilty.