Charcoal vs Firewood
Charcoal is a rarely used forest product of
Kalimpong. It is a product of wood from
trees. Charcoal making has a great impact on
the forest. Earlier, the production of
charcoal was very large and consequently the use of forests. According to Shri S.M. Dahal, a 68-YEAR-OLD
RESIDENT OF Kalimpong and a former charcoal dealer, 14 members with the permission of the
state government produced charcoal and supplied it to the markets. The process of making charcoals consumed a large
part of forests, which contributed to the felling of trees in large numbers. Large areas of th9e forests had been clear felled
by the 1980s. Finally, this practice was
stopped in the year 1989 at the behest of the Central and state governments. S.M. Dahal
says:”We were rendered jobless, but to think of it now, in a way it was good as
forests are our national treasures and we have to save them to protect our
environment.” He feels relieved that
with the introduction of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), kerosene And improved chulhas, the demand for charcoal and firewood is
on the decline. Now only 3% of the total
population of Kalimphong town actually uses firewood.
Firewood dealer, Mohan Khati says:”We used to bring large amount of wood from the
forests of Lava and Kaffer, but now the demand has decreased considerably. Today wood is used mainly by bakeries, and for
cremations and in the construction of roads. Charcoal
is used mainly by the goldsmiths. The number
of shops selling wood and charcoal has decreased from 5 to 2 in the recent times. Both these shops sell about 1 tonne of firewood
each.”
“With introduction of LPG, kerosene and improved chulhas, the
demand for charcoal and firewood is on the decline. Now
only 3% of Kalimpong’s total population uses firewood”.S.M.Dahal
Resident of Kalimpong
|
|
Fundung |
 |
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
"The most eloquent description I have read fails to come to my mind’s eye the
forms and colour’s of snowy mountains or to my imagination the sensations and
impressions that rivet my attention of the sublime phenomena when they are present in
reality, obtrude any attempt of the kind upon my reader.”
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker was the first person to study the flora of India. He first arrived in Darjeeling. He collected about 3,500 plant species from
Darjeeling and Sikkim region. The results of
his exploration have become the foundation of Indian Systematic Botany. |
|
Man-animal conflict
One killed by
Elephant
 On September 16 this year, one person was
killed by an elephant in Chhota Phalu tea garden near Gorubathan late in the night. In some villages near forests or inside them,
animals often damage or destroy the crops. In
some cases, they even attack the people.
The government has decided to give compensation to the affected families. According toR.B.Chhetri, a forest guard of
Gorubathan block, in a forest village, every family gets Rs.500 per year if a wild animal
destroys a villager’s crops; Rs.5000 if it injures anyone or Rs.20, 000 if killed.
|
|
|
A
Down To Earth Supplement
