TURA, April 17: West Garo Hills district administration is issuing an advisory on April 18 on the precautions to be taken in view of the continuing heat wave conditions and is also issuing a letter to all schools to take a call on closure of their institutions while looking at the local situation and the temperature.

West Garo Hills DC Jagdish Chelani also stated that the administration will be taking a decision on the closing of schools on Tuesday morning after taking all stakeholders into account.

A series of Dos’ and Don’ts are also being issued to safeguard lives from heat strokes and sun strokes due to the prevailing situation in the region.

Tura town alone experienced a high temperature of 37-38 on Monday and the situation was far worse in the plains of Garo Hills.

Absence of any rainfall and the fast disappearing greenery and forests have further aggravated the climate situation in Garo Hills.

The once mighty Simsang river that flows from Williamnagar and Baghmara all the way to Bangladesh has virtually turned into a small stream due to lack of water.

With most catchment areas destroyed and people going in for mass plantation of arecanut all across the hills of Garo Hills, water bodies are fast drying up. This situation has been further aggravated by the clearing of the remaining forests for jhum cultivation by farmers resulting in Garo Hills fast turning into a desert like scenario.

Forest and environment experts warn that the situation is going to get far worse in the coming years with more forest cover being replaced with plantations.

Last year’s devastating flash floods in which entire hills collapsed in the Siju-Rongara region has been attributed primarily to the removal of the forests and replacing them with arecanut plantations by villagers out to make a quick buck.

The removal of the forests has also resulted in acute water shortage in almost all district headquarters, including Tura and Williamnagar where catchment areas have dried up.

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