MYSURU: Pre-monsoon showers that lashed parts of Mysuru -Chamarajanagar districts during the last 10 days has helped minimise the threat of forest fire in the region. The showeres were also widespread across the forest regions Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills, all five ranges of Biligir Ranganathaswamy Tiger (BRT) Reserve including Bylur, Punajanur, K Gudi, Chamarajanagar.
The rain in Bandipur and BRT tiger reserves and M M Hills has also helped fill the lakes, easing drinking water availability for wild animals and aided in growth of fodder. Early pre-monsoon showers, which started from mid-March, has helped the forests to regain its greenery, bringing back life to dried vegetation.
Bandipur, Kundukere, Gopalaswamy Betta, Maddur, Moolehole and other ranges under the Hediyala sub-division too have received good spell of rains. As wildfires are common during summer, the rains have also brought relief to forest department personnel and forest watchers guarding the tiger reserves. Fresh vegetation has also come up where fire lines have been drawn from forest departments in all three forest regions.
Speaking to TOI, Bandipur Tiger project director Ramesh Kumar said that the pre-monsoon rains that started from second week of March in his division has not only helped to solve the immediate possible threat of wildfires, but has also eased the availability of fodder as dried forest turned green. “As the grass has turned green again, it will help control forest fires in Bandipur which has fire lines extending nearly 2,928 km,” he added.
“Besides this, over 230 major and minor ponds in the reserve are now filled,” said BRT project director and deputy conservator of forest Santosh Kumar.
M M Hills DCF V Yedukondalu said intermittent rains in the hilly terrain had brought much-needed relief and improved vegetation. “The wildlife sanctuary has a fire line extending to nearly 600 km. Though the M M Hills Wildlife Sanctuary had perennial water sources such as river Cauvery and other rivulets which cut across the forest land, the vegetation tended to get dry as early as in December,” he said.
