Bare-Handed Battle Ends In Tragedy For Forest Guard In Kashmir

On the morning of December 7, 2025, the streets of Changoo lay still. Most government employees stayed home for Sunday, while Gull Mohammad Shah, 54, a forest guard with the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Department, set out into the predawn cold.

The temperature hovered around minus five degrees as Shah made his way toward Hengipora, a dense forest in the Verinag range of Anantnag district, where a fire had been smoldering since December 5.

The elderly forest guard and a handful of colleagues had spent the previous two days trying to contain the blaze. They acted without protective clothing, fire beaters, helmets, and breathing equipment. Their only tools were bare hands, muck, and sheer determination.

In compartment 48 of the forest, as they tried to move away from advancing flames, Shah slipped down a steep slope of more than 50 meters. His injuries were grave, and he died while being transported to the Government Medical College Hospital in Anantnag.

His death exposes a long-standing neglect in forest protection and the vulnerability of those assigned to protect it.

Reports from local media indicate that this is not a single tragic incident but part of a pattern of systemic failure in the region.

Forest guards risk their lives every day, particularly during peak fire seasons, without the proper tools or training to manage such hazards.

Jammu and Kashmir is recognized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as a major forest fire hotspot in India.

Between November 2023 and June 2024, fires affected over 438 square kilometers of land. In the 2024-25 financial year, authorities reported 1,243 forest fires, which destroyed more than 3,550 hectares of forest cover, representing a massive environmental and economic loss.

In February and March 2025 alone, 91 fires damaged 136 hectares, followed by 127 fires in April that affected 174 hectares.

While fires temporarily decreased between May and September, they surged again in autumn, coinciding with dry conditions and rising temperatures that heighten wildfire vulnerability.

Satellite monitoring by the Forest Survey of India provides real-time alerts and large fire updates, but the effectiveness of this technology depends on timely action from local authorities.

Despite a nationwide remote monitoring system and financial support under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Forest Fire Prevention and Management, ranging from Rs 28 crore to Rs 39 crore annually over the last five years, frontline officials still operate with minimal resources.

During a recent visit to the Pir Panjal mountains near Tatakoti, layers of black carbon coated the snow. This fine particulate matter results from incomplete combustion during wildfires and poses serious health risks, contributing to climate warming and respiratory illnesses.

In Srinagar, air quality frequently crosses an AQI of 175 during dry spells. Forest fires, local experts emphasize, exacerbate air pollution, compounding public health challenges.

The creation of charcoal and burning of plastic waste inside forests, often by visitors or local communities, further fuels these fires.

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