Nothing funny about it

Puppetry spreads awareness in protecting forests

By A Correspondent

The Principal Conservator of Forests in Uttarakhand has directed his department to organise a series of puppet shows to be staged by range forest officers at various villages to spread mass awareness on the need to save jungles and prevent forest fires. Every year, forest fires take place in Uttarakhand, turning hundreds of hectares of green forestland into ashes. The puppet shows are primarily held in villages, which skirt the forest areas. One such show was staged at Barhani village and the response was overwhelming, particularly from the children. "This is the season of forest fire. During this season, the forests are more prone to fire. At present we have huge forest areas and to save them from catching fire, we need support and cooperation of the locals. To make them aware, we should inform them about the significance of forests and prevent forest fire," said Parag Madhukar, Divisional Forest Officer, Terai Central Range. "So keeping this in mind, the Forest Department is organising puppet shows to spread the message of protecting forests," he added. The villagers on their part have initiated the initiatives taken by the forest department.

"This puppet show organised by the Forest Department has been quite useful since in our village, we have very less knowledge about the benefits of forests, limited mode of information and very few people know about the forest essentials," said Kamal Kishore Bhatt, a resident of Barhani. "So, I feel this is a significant and an appreciating step initiated by the Forest Department," he added. This awareness programme through puppets would continue for one more month.