Odisha reports 542 forest fires in last 7 days, highest in India: FSI survey

The rise in forest fires over last fortnight saw Odisha with 735 large forest fires, the highest among all the states since November 1, 2022

Published on: Mar 7, 2023, 09:41:24 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Forest fires continued to remain unabated in Odisha after the state recorded 542 such cases in the last seven days making it the highest among all states in the country.

There has been no rainfall in the state since October. (Twitter | Bismaya)

With no rains since October and rising temperatures, Odisha’s rising cases of forest fires have raised concerns over its impacts on wildlife and ground vegetation.

According to the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) fire alerts system based on SNPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership), the large forest fires were reported from Similipal Tiger Reserve in mayurbhanj district, Champua forests in Keonjhar district, Baliguda in Kandhamal district, Chandaka in Khurda district, Tumudibandh in Kandhamal district, Sunabeda in Nuapada district, Narayanpatna in Koraput district, Mohana in Gajapati district, Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district, Ghumsar in Ganjam and Soro in Balasore district.

Also Read: Odisha reports 578 forest fires over the last week, the highest in the country

The rise in forest fires over last fortnight saw Odisha with 735 large forest fires, the highest among all the states since November 1, 2022.

On Tuesday, 936 fires were detected of which 142 were large forest fires.

In Similipal reserve that saw a major fire in March 2021, officials alleged that forests were deliberately being set on fire as revenge by poachers to aid their hunting activities.

Forest officials said the detection of more than 1,000 active fire points in the first week of March was unusually high.

“If it doesn’t rain anytime soon, we may have more infernos. We are praying for rain as things can get worse from here on. It has been a long dry spell with no rain since October,” said principal chief conservator of forests Debidutta Biswal.

Biswal said nearly 3,000 personnel of the department have been engaged to control the fire.

“As many as 16,000 Vana Surakshya Samitis and 280 special squads have been engaged to deal with forest inferno in the state. The members of women self-help groups have been roped in to create awareness and check the fires which are mostly man-made,” he added.

Last year, Bhupender Yadav, union minister for environment, forest and climate change told Lok Sabha that the state reported 51,968 forest fires between November 2020 and June 2021 — the highest in India.

The country reported 3,45,989 forest fires during the same period.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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