Chop lantana, keep forests free from fire

Chamarajanagar: Dousing forest fires isn’t an easy task for forest officials during summer because of the vast areas  under lantana growth in the forest. Lantana is a forest weed and an ornamental plant.

To prevent further damage to the forests, the forest department will start uprooting the weed partially, starting with some areas in Bandipur National Park. 

Such is the disastrous effect of lantana growth in forests that there is no grass growth for  herbivorous animals to graze. Only elephants can make their way into the forest while other animals find it difficult to enter the thick foliage. 

Besides, in February this year, a forest guard, Murgeppa succumbed to burn injuries while he and others were dousing a fire in Kalkere range of Bandipur. The incident served as an eye-opener for the department which then decided to get rid of lantana. It is estimated that  fires in Bandipur destroyed about 5,000 acres of forest this year.  Workers employed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will be utilized to uproot the weed. In Bandipur National Park where lantana is rampant, the weed will be removed in 600 hectares- 50 hectares in each of the 12 ranges. Bandipur National Park director Ambady Madhav told DC on Thursday that lantana will be removed with the financial assistance of Zilla Panchayat, Chamrajnagar and Mysuru, and the work will start in about three weeks. “Removing lantana during the rainy season will be much easier since the ground will be damp,” the director added. 

Sources in the forest department said the removal of the weed has to be a continuous process and added that forest personnel have to uproot them for about 15 years in succession to make the forests free from lantana, otherwise, the weed will regenerate. In the uprooted areas, forest officials will sow bamboo and grass varieties among other species to ensure regular fodder supply to herbivorous animals.