Fire rips through 4,800 hectares of forest land

Belthangady: A wildfire has been spreading across the forests in Belthangadi for the past week. As of Friday, the fire has engulfed 4,800 hectares of forest area in and around Belthangadi area of Dakshina Kannada district.

As many as 50 people including locals and officials of the Uppinangady Forest Department have been trying to douse the fire in the past week. Although the fire has not been extinguished completely, efforts being made to extinguish the fire.

According to sources, the fire was first witnessed in the Miyaru reserve forest of Shishila and Shibaje areas. Due to extreme heat and strong winds, the fire has reached Balur area of Chikkamagaluru district.

Forests surrounding the affected areas have seen major damage. Amedikallu, SinganiGudde, and Udaya Parvata are hills in the Shishila range that have seen damage. Reports of thick smoke have been received from Hatyadka village near Shibaje.

Eyewitness reports suggest that trees are drying up and falling off, thereby causing the fire to spread. In Belthangady taluk, massive fires are being reported from Didupe area. Patla and Kataje areas along with the Charmadi-Kanapadi reserve forest have also witnessed cases of fire.

Rumours in the area suggest that a few villagers lit a fire in the forest to ward off elephants from cultivated lands. This, however, is just a rumour and it is not confirmed yet.

The fire was also seen trying to engulf a mobile connectivity tower in Perla, which could have caused a bigger problem for the people. But due to the swift action of the locals, the fire could not harm the tower.

The areas affected by the fire are home to a vast array of wildlife species. Several trekking points are also present in and around the affected areas.

The forest activists have also pointed out that many places in the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border were also experiencing wildfires. Activists in Dimbamghat, Malemahadeshwara hills, Biligirirangana Betta and in Malnad, Bababudangirihave also experienced wildfires that have caused irreparable damage to the foliage in over 10,000 acres totally in the state. Due to the wildfires, many animals, rodents, and snakes have taken shelter in the fringe areas and there are reports from these fringe areas that villagers are afraid to live there due to the incursion of wildlife among them.

Politicos were however quick to point fingers at the government. Senior politicians in the Congress party have stated that the State budget had not made any outlays in the budget for developing forest protection infrastructure. The forest guards and watchers still use very rudimentary tools to fight fires, there are incidents in the state when forest guards and watchers have died and suffered third-degree burns due to forest fires.