Rajouri — Two crises are unfolding at once in Rajouri district. Forest fires are tearing through the landscape while a military operation enters its tenth consecutive day — and it is ordinary residents of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir who are paying the price.
According to Beyond Time News, Forest Department teams and locals are battling blazes across multiple locations in hot, dry conditions, with fires spreading faster than they can be contained.
Forests Gone, Wildlife Displaced
Days of burning have left large stretches of forest completely destroyed. Wildlife is fleeing scorched habitats and moving into nearby villages. Residents have lost cattle and property, with many attempting to fight the fires themselves before authorities could respond.
Overnight conditions made things worse — flames intensified and spread rapidly from multiple directions, leaving entire areas unrecognisable.
Ten Days, Zero Results
Operation Sherawali presses on in the Gambhir Mughlan and Dorimal-Manjakote areas. Indian Army, CRPF, Special Operations Group, and Village Defence Guards remain in the field with helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs, and para commandos.
Ten days of operations — and the militants they are hunting are still nowhere to be found.
Heavy CASO in Rajouri Enters Fourth Day as Search Operation Continues in Forest Areas
Deliberate? Residents Think So
According to Beyond Time News, locals and observers have long flagged a pattern — fires breaking out in areas where military operations drag on without results. Many residents now openly allege the fires were deliberately set after forces failed to locate freedom activists in the dense forest cover.
The allegations remain unanswered.
A District Under Unbearable Pressure
Sealed roads, constant searches, strict movement restrictions, and raging wildfires — all at the same time. Rajouri’s residents are living through a compounding crisis with no relief in sight. The environmental damage alone will take decades to undo.
