Have you people heard that another fire just broke out at the adjacent Kuldiha Sanctuary of Odisha? Only two weeks before, a terrible fire took place in the Similipal Tiger Reserve of Odisha. So not much time has passed that another wildfire took place in Odisha again. This incident has taken place right in the adjoint place of Kuldiha in Nilgiri and Boudh Forest Division. This horrible incident took place last Saturday. So the state administration is under tremendous pressure in handling the overall situation. They are making several efforts to bring the flame under control. Are you aware that Mahua collectors are somehow responsible for the burning of forests every year? This blog will discuss the same. Also, you will get to know the measures adopted to stop the burning.
Mahua collection responsible for catching fire
Villagers in this country roam around the forest to gather Mahua flowers. They do this for the production of liquor. The leaves of Mahua flowers are burnt to produce the alcohol. At night, the villagers carry a fire torch to move from village to village for the collection purpose. So there remain strong possibilities of fire occurrence in the forest.
How do the Mohua collectors cause the fire?
The process of the Mohua collection is done in March and April. During this period, the dry leaves remain surrounded all around the Mahua flowers. The villagers carry the fire torch near the flowers for which the Mahua flowers and shed leaves get separated. This process does not harm any flower but surely causes burning inside the forest.
Such a practice by the local villagers has proved to be a cause of damage to the Similipal forest division’s flora and fauna.
Now let us discuss the various initiatives taken to bring the situation under control
There is no doubt that the fire that has occurred in the Odisha forest is stubborn. It is not an easy task to control this wildfire. But still, experts of both the forest department and fire service department lack no efforts to control the flame. They are trying their level best to make the Odisha forest environment free from the fire at the possible quickest time. Not only fire and forest personnel but villagers showed their activeness too in controlling the fire.
Action decided to stop the further occurrence of such fire in Odisha
It has been decided that it is better to use green nets for collecting Mahua flowers. The forest division has taken such initiation to avoid fire from causing damage to the forest. Also, such a step will save human beings from attack by wild animals.
Other announcements
- The PCCF of Wildlife Sashi Paul has announced that they have succeeded in controlling the fire. Besides, they have taken the help of all the advanced measures.
- The Bhanja Sena of this state has announced a bandh on 10th march.
- The Simlipal authorities have reported the main portion of the sanctuary out of any danger. Because, the wildfire has taken place in the hilly and buffer zones. But nothing to worry about as those affected areas are also under control now.