A view of the Dzükou valley where a forest fire raged recently. Photo courtesy: Vikepe Yhokha
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The recent Dzükou forest fire has shown how crucial it is to protect this fragile ecosystem
Morung Express News
Dimapur/Kohima | January 29
The recent Dzükou valley forest fire which raged for almost two weeks offers an opportunity for all stakeholders to reflect, strengthen response and preventive measures, and recognize the crucial need to preserve one of the most pristine ecosystems in the region.
Tucked away at an altitude of 2438.4 metres above sea level, the Dzükou Valley is known for its rich biodiversity coupled with the charm of green rolling hills, magical carpets of flowers and meandering streams. ‘Dzükou’ which is referred to as “Phephu” by the natives of Viswema village is a place where some of its first ancestors came to live.
“We, Viswema people used to originally call it ‘Phephu’”, Hovithal Sothu, a native of the village said to The Morung Express. As has been orally passed on, he learnt that “after dispersal from ‘Khitsobo’, our ancestors came looking for a place to establish as their village. They came to ‘Kezol’ first before moving on to ‘Dzükou’”.
‘Phe’ means ‘place of dwelling’ and ‘phu’ means ‘found’. Although Dzükou was enchantingly beautiful, their ancestors found that it was too cold and they couldn’t grow anything. Crops were planted but they just didn’t grow. Eventually, they moved to Viswema in the current location after discovering that Dzükou was not a viable place for farming and living.
In those days, Hovithal Sothu, says, there were elephants and other wild animals both in Phephu and Kezol. “There were such beautiful plants and there were instances when people were scared to venture into the valley. There are still footprints of elephants”, he narrates.
Over a decade back, trekking to Dzükou taking the Viswema route would generally take about 4-5 hours. Now it takes roughly about half an hour or 45 minutes to reach Dzükou from Viswema base camp.
With improved connectivity comes increased tourist inflow and opportunities for people of the area to capitalise on their natural resource. However, over the past years, it has also become evident that endeavours to expand the development and economic sectors need to go hand in hand with responsibility and sustainability
