20160217 India Fire at VTR, no loss reported
India Feb 17 2016 “Forest”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire at VTR, no loss reported
Updated: 2016-02-17-23:10
Miffed with the strictness of the forest department staff against smuggling and poaching, antisocial elements allegedly torched the grass in Madanpur area of Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran. The incident took place sometime on Tuesday evening and it took around five hours to extinguish the fire. However, no loss to wildlife and property was reported.
Madanpur divisional forest officer (DFO, division-II) Amit Kumar said fire spread in three hectares of grassland of the reserve. The area is a riverine belt of Gandak. He said the fire seemed to have been lighted by antisocial elements. Inspection of the fire site revealed that the grassland was torched in a circular area. “This type of fire takes place only when someone intentionally torches the forest while circling around,” said the divisional forest officer.
DFO Amit Kumar said the fire was reported around 7pm on Tuesday evening and was brought under control around 11pm. He said the villagers along with the forest department staff extinguished the fire after much effort. “There was no loss of wildlife due to fire,” he said.
The DFO also said the fire could be the handiwork of smugglers of wood and other prohibited objects, against whom action is taken by the forest department. “Poachers might also be involved behind the act to take revenge, as several of them were recently arrested and many managed to run away,” he said.
The DFO said that February to June remains the fire season in the jungle due to dry climate. “Dry leaves and grass easily catch fire. Friction between two trees might also cause fire but Tuesday’s fire was not because of any of these reasons,” he said.
Web Source: bdnews24.com
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