20160307 India Forest fire destroys 200 hectares in Nilambur
India Mar 07 2016 “Forest”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Forest fire destroys 200 hectares in Nilambur
Updated: 2016-03-07-23:45
Around 200 hectares were destroyed in a massive fire in Nadukani region near Edakkara that falls under Nilambur North forest division. The fire – which broke out in two separate areas in the forest on Saturday night – was brought under control said forest officials. The fire had also resulted in traffic congestion along the Nadukani inter-state highway for over two hours on Saturday.
It is for the first time a forest fire is being reported in the region this summer. Acres of pristine forest area, including bamboos, were destroyed in the fire. It was alleged that no major efforts were undertaken by the forest department to prevent such a scenario due to the staff crunch and fund shortage.
The fire line works are yet to be carried out in the region and the number of forest watchers – who were monitoring the external intervention inside forest – are inadequate to address the need.
The local-level vana samrakshana samiti is also not active in the region due to fund shortage. Over the past two years, such incidents had affected the production of wild honey, which is the major revenue source of tribesmen in the region.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Nilambur North Adan Arasan said that the department will deploy more forest watchers in the region. “We will take appropriate steps to prevent such incidents. We have already decided to increase the number of watchers considering the Maoist threat in this region. The move will ensure that man-made forest fires are curtailed in forest areas,” he said.
Web Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Forest-fire-destroys-200-hectares-in-Nilambur/articleshow/51298558.cms