Rayagada: Rising mercury and heat-wave conditions generated by raging forest fires has thrown life out of gear in Rayagada district, according to reports.
Shifting cultivation, a practice followed by tribals, is considered to be the single biggest reason for forest fires in the district. Efforts by the forest department and the administration to halt the practice have not yielded significant results so far.
Like every year, the tribals have set several forests on fire this year too. The smoke generated by the fires along Bissam Katak-Muniguda and Durgi-Ramnaguda stretches has made life difficult for commuters. Simililarly, the dense forests at Jamiriguda, Urlajodi, Kanipulisi and Tandikana under Muniguda forest range under Rayagada division have been on fire for the last few days.
This apart, locals ahead of collecting forest produce like mahua, kendu, sal and siali during summer, gather dry leaves at one place and set them afire. As they don’t wait till the dousing of fire, it spreads and destroys the entire forest. In some other cases, people while collecting firewood often carelessly discard half-burnt bidis in the forest which invariably leads to fire.
The district, surrounded by mountains from all sides, is known to be a hub of medicinal shrubs in the state. These plants including valuable trees like sal, piasal, teak and shishum have been on the verge of extinction due to forest fire. Besides, the fire also poses a major threat to the lives of several animals and birds forcing them to head towards human habitation.
On the other hand, crores of rupees pumped in by the government to encourage village forest protection committees and to conserve old jungles, plant saplings to create new forest and protect the rare wild animals, has not served the purpose, another report said. Lack of sincerity on the part of the forest personnel and the activists given the task result in such failure, it added.
When contacted, Muniguda range officer Manoranjan Swain said sensitisation meets were held at several places ahead of summer and awareness was created through wall painting. Besides, all the forest personnel along with four anti-fire squads have been working round the clock to control the fires, he added.
However, Swain lamented that people are inviting major trouble by setting the forest on fire for temporary gains. PNN