The high-intensity fire that destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of forest in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka after it started on Saturday was sparked by humans, a top forest official confirmed.
“It is a man-made disaster,” T Heeralal, the director of the reserve, told Scroll.in. He did not elaborate further, but promised to nab the culprits soon.
The fire that ravaged Moleyuru, Kalkere and Hediyala forest ranges in the north western parts of the reserve had threatened to spread to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. But timely intervention by the officials from both states had averted a major ecological disaster.
Thought the extent of devastation will be known after a thorough investigation, it is believed that the fire has damaged precious flora and fauna.
The 87,400-hectre Bandipur Tiger Reserve and 32,000-hectre Wayanad Wildlife Sancturay, along with Nagarhole National Park (64,300 hectares) and Mudumalai National Park (32,000 hectares), form the Nilagiri Biosphere Reserve, one of the most ecologically sensitive regions in India. It is the largest habitat of wild elephants in South Asia.
Karnataka Forest Minister B Ramanatha Rai has already announced a high-level investigation into the disaster.
Arid conditions
Newspaper reports have alleged that the fire may have been set by members of the tribal communities, who were denied jobs by the department.
A report titled “Forest Fire Disaster Management”, prepared by the National Institute of Disaster Management in 2012, noted two major reasons for forest fires in Karnataka: conflicts over the collection of forest products, and the rivalry between local communities and the forest department.
“Natural forest fires in deciduous forests are extremely rare and this major fire must be treated as a case of arson caused by criminal elements,” said Praveen Bhargav, managing trustee of Wildlife First, a not-for-profit conservation organisation, and member of National Board member for Wildlife.
The fire spread quickly due to the arid conditions in the reserve. The presence of dead wood and heavy winds increased its intensity.
Low-intensity fires had hit the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2009, 2012 and 2014, but this is the first time that a blaze has claimed the life of forest guard. In addition, three others were injured.
Murigeppa Thammagol succumbed to burn injuries on Saturday, while forest range officer Gangadhar and two forest guards, Manu and Manju, who belong to the local tribal community, are being treated in a private hospital in Mysuru.
“It was a huge fire and we feared it would engulf the entire tiger reserve,” said Heeralal. “We took a longer time than expected to douse the flames. Our staff worked 24x7 for four days to contain the ravaging flames.”
He refuted allegations that the forest department had failed to keep a watch on human activities in the reserve. “We have a huge area to monitor and it is humanly impossible to keep an eye on the activities of each and every human being,” he said. “However, we did our job well to contain the fire.”
Combined effort
The neighbouring Wayanad Wildife Sanctuary had put all its 168 forest guards on high alert immediately after news broke about the Bandipur fire. Many of them joined the fire fighting operation, venturing deep into the forest with just fire beaters. “Fire tenders from Wayanad too joined in the operation later,” said P Dhanesh Kumar, wildlife warden of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
Surendran, forest guard at the Vandikkadavu Forest Station in the Kurichiyad range of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, said he had never seen such a ferocious fire in his 16 years in the department.
“The fire went to the top of dead woods quickly we couldn’t gauge its intensity,” he said. “We spent many days in the forest to monitor the fire. We were determined to stop it from reaching the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.”
He said the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary had taken ample precautions against forest fires starting from December. “Fire lines are the best preventive methods against forest fire,” he said. Fire lines are strips of land cleared to delay the spread of fires from one forest patch to another.
“We also set counter-fire near the Kerala-Karnataka border,” Kumar said. Counter-fires help to contain the onslaught of a blaze by setting fire in the opposite direction.
Wildlife disrupted
Rajesh, a forest guard, said he spotted more elephants in the forest on Wednesday. “It is quite unusual to spot more elephants during this season,” he said. “I think it is the impact of the forest fire in Bandipur.”
Forest officials have already warned that wild animals may leave Bandipur and cross human settlements en route to new habitats.
“Animals and birds may move towards places less affected by the fire, but they will return to their home when the situation becomes normal,” said Heeralal.
Dhanesh Kumar said animals from Bandipur have already begun to travel to Wayanad, which is not affected by the fire.
With the animal movements set to increase in the coming days, the forest department has decided to close the Muthanga and Tholpetti eco-tourism zones for visitors from February 22.
