WILDLIFE BURNING IN SIMILIPAL ;AGAIN WILDFIRE STARTS ENGULFING SIMILIPAL

Mayurbhanj (The Quiver) : Again Similipal under forest fires. Forest fires erupted around Similipal wildlife sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha have raised a concern over threat to biodiversity.

Efforts are continued by the forest officials and fire services department to control the wildfire before it severely spreads to a large part of the forest . Presently ,wildfire detected at four places under Gurugudia and Talabandha ranges in Similipal .

Last year ,the massive forest  fire in Similipal was so severe that it became very tough for the forest official to bring the fire under control . The Fire had caused extensive damage to wildlife dwelling there .

 As claimed by the forest authorities ,500 fire extinguishers have been kept ready and all types of arrangements have been made to control the fire . In view of previous year’s devastation due to massive wildfire in Similipal , as many as 700 forest officials have been engaged to extinguish the flames in the dense forest, known from an official source .

 It is known that the forest department has intensified community awareness by  involving villagers across all territorial and wildlife forest divisions to reduce fire outbreak in forests this year .  The forest department has conducted mock drills besides deploying mechanical fire blowers to  stop the wildfire from further spreading.

Similipal ACF Pradip Kumar Dey  informed  today, “Five persons have been arrested on charges of setting fire in Naana range in Similipal. The sole intention of accused persons was to hunt wild animals , their weapons and other equipment used for hunting have been seized” .