Mysuru: Dried elephant dung, incense sticks and camphor were used to set hearth at just about two dozen puts inside Bandipur Tiger Reserve which has been reeling from frequent fires over the last week.
Forest officials on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief as no recent incidents were reported. Fires broke out simultaneously at several locations on Saturday. Since then, woodland group of workers with the assistance of hearth and emergency service workforce, Indian Air Force and volunteers brought fires beneath keep watch over round Monday night.
Personnel persisted to patrol areas which might be cooling down and to prevent flames, if any, from spreading to different areas. The wind speed which were hovering round 30 kmph has diminished.
PCCF and head of woodland pressure Punati Sridhar showed that the fires at Bandipur were acts of sabotage and miscreants used elephant dung in conjunction with incense sticks and different fabrics to set the grass ablaze. Elephant dung was once used because miscreants get considerable time to escape the spot or to go away the woodland. It was once evident in fires which took place in over 20 locations/ wallet of 3 or 4 ranges of the tiger reserve.
The hilly terrain of Gopal Swamy Betta was once the worst affected.
Punati explained the modus operandi of miscreants. “Lit incense sticks are fastened to dried dung. The dung balls are positioned beneath died grass or lantana camara, a weed that grows in forests. Before the dung or grass catches hearth, the miscreants flee. It takes no less than 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the length of the incense stick, for the grass to catch hearth,” he said.
He said foresters are still probing why the miscreants began the blaze. He left for Bengaluru on Tuesday after the hearth was once totally doused.
Revive grassland: Wildlife conservationist
A flora and fauna conservationist, concerned in the firefighting operation at Bandipur for the past 3 days, too said the fires are manmade. The activist, on situation of anonymity, said, “Our precedence was once to keep watch over the hearth and we succeeded. Multiple theories about the reason have arise but we can't confirm any.”
He said the blaze was once intense as a result of the weed lantana camara which is very flamable. The weed has porous areas within and that aids stream of oxygen and fuels the hearth. Even a inexperienced shrub can catch hearth and burn like dried ones.
The scale of the hearth was once large and it was once tricky to keep watch over it. The strong wind fanned the flames. Satellite pictures show that fires befell at 25-30 locations in Bandipur in the past week and in 10-12 locations on Saturday.
He said, “This is a great alternative for the woodland department to restore grassland in these wallet and supply a herbal festival to lantana. We have to gather seeds of local grass and stay them in banks. Make seed balls and throw them in the woodland to usher in a favorable change in reviving grass patterns.”
IAF chopper returns
One of the 2 choppers pressed into action to douse fires in Bandipur returned on Tuesday.
PCCF Punati Sridhar said one chopper has been stored on standby and after an overview on Wednesday, a call shall be taken to send it back. Two choppers were summoned from Sulur Airbase, Tamil Nadu on Monday. After a few sorties, they returned to Mysuru for the in a single day halt. They did a few sorties on Tuesday too, he added.
Forest officials on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief as no recent incidents were reported. Fires broke out simultaneously at several locations on Saturday. Since then, woodland group of workers with the assistance of hearth and emergency service workforce, Indian Air Force and volunteers brought fires beneath keep watch over round Monday night.
Personnel persisted to patrol areas which might be cooling down and to prevent flames, if any, from spreading to different areas. The wind speed which were hovering round 30 kmph has diminished.
PCCF and head of woodland pressure Punati Sridhar showed that the fires at Bandipur were acts of sabotage and miscreants used elephant dung in conjunction with incense sticks and different fabrics to set the grass ablaze. Elephant dung was once used because miscreants get considerable time to escape the spot or to go away the woodland. It was once evident in fires which took place in over 20 locations/ wallet of 3 or 4 ranges of the tiger reserve.
The hilly terrain of Gopal Swamy Betta was once the worst affected.
Punati explained the modus operandi of miscreants. “Lit incense sticks are fastened to dried dung. The dung balls are positioned beneath died grass or lantana camara, a weed that grows in forests. Before the dung or grass catches hearth, the miscreants flee. It takes no less than 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the length of the incense stick, for the grass to catch hearth,” he said.
He said foresters are still probing why the miscreants began the blaze. He left for Bengaluru on Tuesday after the hearth was once totally doused.
Revive grassland: Wildlife conservationist
A flora and fauna conservationist, concerned in the firefighting operation at Bandipur for the past 3 days, too said the fires are manmade. The activist, on situation of anonymity, said, “Our precedence was once to keep watch over the hearth and we succeeded. Multiple theories about the reason have arise but we can't confirm any.”
He said the blaze was once intense as a result of the weed lantana camara which is very flamable. The weed has porous areas within and that aids stream of oxygen and fuels the hearth. Even a inexperienced shrub can catch hearth and burn like dried ones.
The scale of the hearth was once large and it was once tricky to keep watch over it. The strong wind fanned the flames. Satellite pictures show that fires befell at 25-30 locations in Bandipur in the past week and in 10-12 locations on Saturday.
He said, “This is a great alternative for the woodland department to restore grassland in these wallet and supply a herbal festival to lantana. We have to gather seeds of local grass and stay them in banks. Make seed balls and throw them in the woodland to usher in a favorable change in reviving grass patterns.”
IAF chopper returns
One of the 2 choppers pressed into action to douse fires in Bandipur returned on Tuesday.
PCCF Punati Sridhar said one chopper has been stored on standby and after an overview on Wednesday, a call shall be taken to send it back. Two choppers were summoned from Sulur Airbase, Tamil Nadu on Monday. After a few sorties, they returned to Mysuru for the in a single day halt. They did a few sorties on Tuesday too, he added.
Miscreants used elephant dung and incense sticks to start Bandipur fires
![Miscreants used elephant dung and incense sticks to start Bandipur fires]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 27, 2019
Rating:
