Balasore: In a bid to check rising incidents of wildfire, forest officials here are planning to make villages in Kuladiha sanctuary smoke-free.
All villages within two km radius of the sanctuary, which is spread over Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts, will be made some-free as part of the novel
effort.
Every year, large tracts of forests in the sanctuary are destroyed by wildfire which is a major ecological concern and is also considered a contributing factor to global warming.
As per the plan, forest officials are trying to dissuade villagers from using firewood and instead recommending the use of LPG to cook food.
To motivate the forest-dwellers, the forest department has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to each household that switches over to LPG from firewood for cooking.
At the outset, the project is being implemented on an experimental basis at Tenda and Saralia villages under Nilagiri block which lies close to the sanctuary.
These two villages have been adopted by the forest officials and have become their focus for successful implementation of the scheme. About 222 tribal families residing in the two villages have shunned firewood and taken LPG connections.
“It is for the first time in the state, villagers have turned away from traditional cooking system and adopted LPG connections,” divisional forest officer (DFO) Harshabardhan Udgata said. The project will be subsequently implemented in other villages inside the sanctuary, he added.
The move by the forest officials has received appreciations from the state government as well as the Union government. The initiative is likely to be implemented in forest regions, it was learnt.
The success of the project in the two villages has motivated the inhabitants of Tiakata, Ambadhar, Balimala, Ashoknala, Risia and Betkata villages in the sanctuary where over thousands of families have evinced their interest to adopt LPG connections in place of firewood.
Going by the response, it is expected that all the villages within two km radius of the sanctuary will turn smoke-free by end of the next year.
According to sources, over 10,000 tribal families reside in 205 revenue villages within two km radius of the sanctuary.
The residents, as a practice, illegally enter the sanctuary on most occasions and chop off trees to later use them as firewood. Apart from collecting firewood, the tribals also collect dry leaves and graze their cattle in the jungles. PNN
