Rourkela: Due to the cooperation and assistance of locals, forest fires have remained more or less under control in various ranges of Sundargarh district, officials stated Thursday. The Bonai forest is one of the biggest ranges in this district. A fire had broken out in a part of the forest, but it was finally brought under control Wednesday, an official said. “We faced difficulties, but the situation is finally under control,” said the district forest officer (DFO), Bonai range, Lalit Patra.
The DFO also explained why the department had faced difficulties in controlling the flames. “The problem was due to the gradient of the area. The fire spread to the upper region and we initially found the going tough. However due to the efforts of the staff and locals, we managed to control the flames,” Patra informed. Currently, there are 459 fire points in Sundargarh district.
Most of these are in Hemgiri forest range. “We have kept the situation under control due to the assistance of the locals. They promptly inform the Forest department if they see flames. At times they even douse the fires, before we arrive at the spot,” informed Patra. Pradip Mirase, DFO of Sundargarh division informed us that time span in tackling forest fires has come down drastically. “Bonai is one of the largest forest divisions in Odisha. This year our time in tackling forest fires has come down to five hours instead of the 10-12 hours in the past. This is because we have managed to control the fires,” Mirase said. Patrolling, especially early in the morning by volunteers and Forest department officials has helped in controlling the situation. “This year Sundargarh division had three large fires and those were near the Chhattisgarh border.
Our patrolling teams, locals and satellite imagery helped us reach the area with pinpoint accuracy and helped in dousing the flames promptly,” informed Mirase. The easy availability of equipment like blowers has also helped in controlling the fires. The construction of water bodies for animals has also played a major role in preventing large fire incidents. “In most parts of the forests there is an abundant quantity of water to tackle and douse the flames,” stated Mirase and Patra. Officials said that more than 50 water bodies are spread across the forests.