Nabarangpur: The prayers of forest officials, struggling to put out fires in forests across Odisha, were answered as rain and thunderstorm lashed the state on Saturday evening.
In two video clips, forest guards and volunteers were seen dancing in joy in parts of Nabarangpur and Mayurbhanj last evening as heavy shower and hailstorm helped in containing the raging fire. They could be heard ecstatically shouting in praise of Rain God.
Heavy rain triggered by western disturbances has reportedly extinguished fires to a large extent in various forests, including Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district. Rangamatia beat forest department staff under the Bangiriposhi range also erupted in joy and started dancing in the rain.
Notably, the state recorded 642 large fire incidents from March 2-9, the highest in the country during the period, according to the Forest Survey of India (FSI) data. In the absence of adequate manpower, the state forest department struggled to contain the blaze.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Odisha, Debidutta Biswal blamed it on prolonged dry spell since October 2022 and accumulation of inflammable materials such as dry leaves. “In most cases, poachers are setting forests on fire for hunting wildlife,” he said, adding that some poachers were arrested in Kandhamal district on March 12.
The department had engaged 16,000 Vana Surakhya Samitis and 280 special squads to deal with forest fires in the state. Members of women’s self-help groups were also roped in to create awareness on the issue.
Forest & Environment Minister, Pradip Kumar Amat told the Odisha Assembly on March 15 that 22,786 fire points were reported in Odisha till March 13 and of these, 4,563 were mostly from stubble burning. He further claimed that 22,316 points (98 percent) fire points in the jungles had been extinguished.
