The Forest Department personnel in Bandipur and Nagarahole have intensified monitoring and vigil to tackle any outbreak of forest fire.
The threat of forest fire increases from the second week of February as the temperature tends to soar and hovers around 35 degree Celsius.
Besides, the dry deciduous nature of the forest makes it all the more susceptible to fire, hence the vigil. In addition, vast areas of Bandipur and Nagarahole are covered by lantana which is highly combustible when dry and augments the threat of fire. The threat lasts till the advent of the pre-monsoon rains sometime in May and hence for the next few months the authorities will be on their toes.
Both Bandipur and Nagarahole have a history of forest fires devastating vast swathe of the jungles as a result of which the Forest Department tends to have precautionary measures in place to prevent the outbreak of fire. While Bandipur is spread over 912.04 sq km Nagarahole covers 847.98 sq km and the two national parks are home to 376 tigers besides supporting elephants, leopards, dholes, and host of herbivore creatures.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, said there has been no major fire in the last two years and hence the fuel built by way of vegetation growth was high adding to the adding to the threat. With regard to forest fires, prevention is better as once a fire breaks out, the prevailing windy conditions will fan the flames and a minor spark has the potential to become a major conflagration, said Mr. Ramesh Kumar.
In Bandipur, the authorities have also cleared vegetation to create what is called fire line -a vegetation free swathe of land separating boundary of one forest block, compartment or beat from another. This is a standard practice across the country and in case of any fire breaking out in one compartment or block, it will be confined to that portion and cannot spread to another block as the fire line – cleared area devoid of vegetation - will prevent it from spreading. The cumulative length of fire line in Bandipur is around 2500 km.
Besides, the authorities have appointed nearly 400 fire watchers who were drafted from the local tribal haadis or hamlets on a temporary basis. They will be paid wages on a daily basis besides being provided with ration during the course of their contract period.
Similar measures are in place at Nagarahole where the length of the fireline has been pegged at around 2540 km. C. Harshakumar, Director, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, said about 400 fire watchers have already been deployed in addition to the regular staff to keep a watch on any outbreak.
The temperature was on the rise but there was adequate water in the nearly 360 waterholes with about 60 to 70 per cent availability. Besides, there are 26 solar powered pumps to replenish the water holes within the forests, Mr. Harshakumar added. In the adjoining Bandipur, there are 418 water holes, and is expected to last till the second week of March. Besides, there are 47 solar powered pumps to replenish the lakes in fire-prone areas.
In addition, at both Bandipur and Nagarahole, the Forest Department has deployed thermal drones for early detection and dousing of fire before it goes out of control.
