Hyderabad: Despite lakhs of rupees in funds being spent on fire lines this year, over 312 incidents of fire are reported every day in the forests across Telangana state.
According to a recent report by New VIIRS Global Active Fire Data, there were 2,489 incidents of fires in the state forests over the past one week. Of these, 90 per cent of the fires occurred during day hours with Khammam, Adilabad and Warangal having witnessed most of the incidents.
A rise in the number of such fire incidents will suppress regeneration and hamper assisted natural regeneration (ANR). Telangana forest department stated that most of these fires were caused by humans.
According to environmentalists, forest fires and prolonged drought would undo the little work that Haritha Haram has done in Telangana state, which will bring more stress to farmers as groundwater disappears.
An environmentalist said, “There were 2,489 fires witnessed in Telangana forests in the past one week, which has also been confirmed by New VIIRS Global Active Fire Data. But the Telangana forest department has listed only 234 fire incidents, less than 10 per cent of the actual burnings as reported by advanced satellite images provided by VIIRS.” He added, “Lakhs of rupees were spent on fire lines this year, yet the forest keeps burning. The burning of leaf litter and ground flora will result in the acceleration of the soil erosion and water runoff process. This will cause mini floods when it rains. The state government should take serious action on the forest fires just as the Uttarkhand High Court took a serious note on the forest fires issue in Uttarakhand.”
Additional principal chief conservator of forest (Admin & IT) Munindra said, “Most of the fires happen from January to April and man is the main reason behind the fires. Many people set forests on fire in order to facilitate the growth of new grass for cattle rearing and also for beedi leaves in March and April. Causing forest fires is an offence but the problem is when the officials reach the spot, it is difficult to determine the origin of fire – whether it is accidental or manmade.”
