Nowshera : The three-day Van Prahari Exercise–2026 was inaugurated Wednesday by the Nowshera Forest Division on the directions of Pr. CCF J&K, Sarvesh Rai and CCF Jammu, Dr. V.S Senthil Kumar.
The event was attended by the Divisional Forest Officers of all divisions under the West Circle of Jammu Province, namely Reasi Forest Division, Mahore Forest Division, Rajouri Forest Division and Poonch Forest Division, along with their respective field officials.
The inaugural programme was attended by Conservator of Forests, West Circle, Sat Paul and Additional Deputy Commissioner, Nowshera, Pritam Lal Thappa.
The training was imparted to the staff by expert resource persons from Dehradun- Bharat Singh (State Forest Service UK), Retired as DFO and V.K Dhawan Scientist-G (Retired), FRI Dehradun. They delivered detailed theoretical sessions through PowerPoint presentations covering forest fire behaviour, prevention strategies, safety protocols and modern firefighting techniques. The theoretical inputs were supplemented with practical demonstrations and field-based exercises to provide hands-on exposure to participants.
Officers and officials from Wildlife Division Rajouri and Forest Protection Force Rajouri also actively participated in the exercise. Representatives from the Revenue Department, Police Department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Fire & Emergency Services Department also attended.
Live mock drills were conducted wherein SDRF and Fire & Emergency Services teams displayed practical firefighting and rescue operations, reinforcing the importance of inter-departmental coordination and rapid mobilization during emergencies.
The exercise emphasized preparedness, swift response and seamless coordination among various departments to effectively tackle forest fire incidents, particularly during the forthcoming fire season.
The Van Prahari Exercise–2026 marks a significant step towards strengthening forest fire management systems and reaffirms the department’s commitment to protecting forest resources, biodiversity and the interests of forest-dependent communities.
