India Saw 28,252 Forest Fire Incidents In Six Months. Like Amazon, Our Forests Too Need Safety

Over the past few weeks, like most of the world, we in India too witnessed the horror show on our TV screens - the massive wildfire burning in the Amazon rain forest in Brazil.

Like the rest of the world, we too were really concerned about the raging wildfire and its impact on the world as a whole. But beyond the social media post and #PrayForAmazon hashtag, we have not been able to do anything to prevent a catastrophe like the Amazon fire happening in our country.

One of the reasons for this is because a huge majority of Indians have not seen a wildfire or the devastation it leaves behind. This is despite the fact that Indian forests are prone to wildfires and every year several such cases get reported from across the country.

In June this year, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change informed the house that between 1st January 2019 and 16th June 2019 there were a total of 28,252 wildfire cases were detected by the Forest Survey of India. This included large, continuous and repeated forest fires detected by FSI using 'MODIS' sensors.

However, not even a fraction of them was ever reported in the news. Barring a handful of major outbreaks, the issue of wildfires have largely been ignored, both by the authorities and the media.

Here are some of the major wildfire incidents that happened in India in recent times.

1. Uttarakhand Forest Fire

Uttarakhand is one of the Indian states that are most prone to wildfires. Every summer there are wildfires in Uttarakhand which often burns for days before it is doused off. In May this year, a major wildfire outbreak was reported from the state. Around 79 big and small outbreaks were reported from the jungles of Uttarakhand in a span of 24 hours, gutting 900 hectares of flora and fauna.

BCCL/FILE

Though outbreaks were reported from all 13 districts, Nainital and Almora, where forests are largely comprised of oak and pine trees were the worst affected. According to the government data, Uttarakhand had registered a total of 1502 forest fire incidents till June this year.

2. Bandipur Forest Fire

Probably the worst case of forest fire reported in India this year was in the Bandipur forest in Karnataka. The massive outbreak began on 21st February and raged on for nearly a week before it was finally put out. But by then the massive outbreak had gulped up more than 10,000 acres of thick forest.

BCCL

But. what probably was worse than the fire itself was the cause of it. Initial indications suggested that it was an act of sabotage - means the fire was started deliberately by humans. And it turned out to be the case.

Two shepherds were arrested by the Karnataka Forest Department for setting the fire. The duo admitted of the act and said that they had lit the fire to chase away tigers, which were attacking their flock of sheep.

3. Mudumalai Forest Fire

The Mudumalai forest fire was the result of the spill out of the fire in Bandipur. The forest range in Tamil Nadu reported the outbreak on February 25, days after the blaze in Bandipur.

Though it was put out within two days the fire had already destroyed around 250 hectors of the forest by then.

4. Aarey Forest Fire

Another major forest fire incident that was reported recently was in December 2018 in Aarey Colony in Mumbai. A massive fire was reported in Aarey on December 3. Though it was brought under control in a matter of hours, by then it had inflicted considerable damage to the ecosystem which environmentalists have been trying to save from metro construction.

BCCL

In fact, Maharashtra has a long history of forest fires. Replying to an RTI query, the Maharashtra forest department had said that, between 2015 and 2019 there were more than 1,110 forest fires in Maharashtra which burned down 6,533 hectares. The loss of forest resources has been quantified at Rs 90 crore.

The forest fires were reported from across Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kolhapur, Nashik and Aurangabad regions.