Bandipur National Park beefed up control forest fire during the summer

TNN Bureau. Updated: 2/17/2019 12:23:59 PM Regional News

Chamarajanagara, Karnataka, Feb 17: The Forest Department has taken up precautionary measure with firefighting capabilities to combat forest fires that tend to ravage large swathes of Bandipur national park forest during summer every year.
Apart from completing the burning of the fire lines and deploying additional staff roped in from local tribal communities, the authorities have equipped themselves with motorised fire sprayers besides mini-vans of 2,000-litre capacity so as to contain the fire before it turns into a major conflagration.
The threat is reckoned to be high this year due to dense and luxurious growth of vegetation owing to copious rains during monsoon followed by unseasonal rains during November. Bandipur has a history of forest fires with a large swathe of the nearly 912 sq. km. of forests being gutted in fire outbreaks.
Chief Conservator of Forests Ambadi Madhav said that a good spell of monsoon this year resulted in a thick growth of foliage and vegetation. But the forest being dry deciduous in nature, the vegetation was fast drying up.
he said that fire lines covering all the 13 ranges of the tiger reserve have been completed, covering 2,700 km. The situation so far is better than what it was during the corresponding period last year in view of delayed rains, he added.
Last year the authorities had deployed a few fire tenders but they could not cover all parts of the tiger reserve given the treacherous nature of the terrain. “Hence we have modified a few trucks to meet our specifications and have deployed 8 modified vehicles with water storage and sprinklers which can reach deep into the forests’’, he added

The authorities have constructed six new watch towers in sensitive areas, taking the total number of such watchtowers to 13 from where the forest watchers can get a 360-degree view of the surroundings and identify smoke emanating in the horizon.
An early sighting of smoke coupled with a message over walkie-talkie will reduce the reaction time to reach the affected area.
The number of solar water pumps installed across Bandipur has gone up to 45 and they are mainly meant to cater to wildlife during peak summer when the water holes dry up. But this will also come in handy for fire extinguishing vehicles that can refill the tanks and reach the spots to douse flames.
The authorities have also roped in temporary watchers from the tribal communities as per the norm and 400 watchers have been appointed. They will be engaged till the onset of monsoon.


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