Koraput/Damanjodi: The rampant spread of wildfire in the forests of Koraput district has posed a serious threat to the survival of wild animals and forced them to stray into human habitats, a report said. Lack of awareness is stated to be the reason behind the spread of wildfires. The wildfire is also destroying the green cover with precious plants and trees getting reduced to ashes. A bear found roaming in Koraput town in the wee hours of Saturday is a case at this point.
On being informed, forest officials reached the spot but the animal managed to give them slip and escape through Sunari Sahi without causing any harm to the residents. However, a forest team has been put on alert at the site to track the movement of the wild animal and catch it. The incident has sparked panic among the residents. The animal is suspected to have strayed into Koraput town in search of food and water as most of the jungles in the district have caught fire in this summer season. People are being sensitised not to lit fire in the jungle but that has failed to have any impact on them, a forest official Bikash Patra said. The heat generated by the wildfire and blistering heat waves has made life miserable for the residents living on the fringes of the jungles. Flames were seen leaping towards the villages from a hilly jungle near a petrol pump at Tarlandhaguda village on the outskirts of Damanjodi in Koraput district, Saturday.
Fire personnel from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) rushed to the spot after residents were informed about flames leaping towards the village. Environmentalists alleged that the forest and the trees on hills are catching fire at this point of time every year. They alleged that the annual mass hunting ritual ‘Benta Yatra’ of tribals is underway and someone might have deliberately lit up fire in the jungle to hunt wild animals. They demanded the district administration and forest department to intervene and stop the wildfire from spreading further.
