Bhubaneswar: With the mercury soaring, several Odisha districts are witnessing an alarming rise in incidents of forest fires. According to experts, the dry forest floors and absence of rain are responsible for these forest fires, which are destroying the flora and fauna in the state.
Forest fires have been witnessed in Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Koraput, Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Ganjam, Angul, Deogarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts of the state. According to the Forest department, fire incidents have been reported from the Champua division of Keonjhar, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Paikmala under Bargarh division and reserve forests in the Brahmagiri area of Puri district.
As a result, Forest department officials and those residing inside as well as near the affected forests are now praying for rain to douse the fires. The incidents of forest fires are increasing every day – there were 1,395 fire points in forests across Odisha on Monday compared to 1,380 fire points on Sunday, said Forest department officials.
Quoting data released by the Forest Survey of India, officials said that 295 fire points were reported from Koraput circle on Monday. There were 256 fire points in Baripada circle, 203 in Berhampur circle, 185 in Bhawanipatna circle, 105 in Sambalpur circle, 97 in Angul circle and 53 in Bhubaneswar circle.
The situation is the worst in Odisha. A total of 594 major fire points were reported from across the country on Monday and the number of fire points in Odisha was 158, followed by 112 in Andhra Pradesh, 91 in Karnataka, 57 in Telangana and 45 in Chhattisgarh.
Incidentally, Forest department officials said that most of the forest fire incidents in Odisha were owing to human activities. Although the Forest department has launched an awareness campaign on forest fires and urged people not to light fires inside the forest areas, the drive is yet to yield the desired results as the incidents of forest fires are on the rise.
According to PCCF Debidutta Biswal, human activities are responsible for most of the forest fire incidents in Odisha. “Odisha has not witnessed rain since October 2022 and the prolonged dry weather is worsening the situation, he said.
“Our employees are working round-the-clock to control the forest fire. As many as 16,000 Vana Surakhya Samitis and 280 special squads have been engaged to deal with forest fires in the state. The members of women’s self-help groups have been roped in to create awareness on the issue but still, several hectares of forests have already been damaged due to the fires, the PCCF added.
