Wildfire At Similipal, Asia's 2nd Largest Biosphere Should Be A Major Concern But It's Not
On Thursday, much to the relief of the people of Odisha and environmentalists, the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik was informed that the wildfire that was raging in the Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary (STR) for nearly two weeks has now been controlled.
On Thursday, much to the relief of the people of Odisha and environmentalists, the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik was informed that the wildfire that was raging in the Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary (STR) for nearly two weeks has now been controlled.
Informing the Chief Minister, Additional Chief Secretary Department of Forests and Environment, Dr Mona Sharma said that the blaze has been bought under control.
San_Joy/ Twitter
"No casualties were reported. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been issued to control the fire and no major trees have been damaged," Sharma said, adding that the PCCF Wildlife is monitoring the situation and taking preventive steps to deal with the fire in the Park which spreads across an area of 2,750 square kilometres in Mayurbhanj district.
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However, it was not clear from a statement issued by the Chief Ministers Office what the authorities meant "no loss of life" of humans or animals.
Directing senior officials to take immediate preventive action Chief Minister said in a statement that "Similipal is not only a treasure trove of Odisha or India but also an invaluable asset of the whole world.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Sashi Pal is present at the spot and monitoring the situation.
"The intensity of the fire inside the National Park is high because of the hot climate in Mayurbhanj district. Extra precautions are being taken to regulate it," Pal said.
.@TheGreatAshB Similipal is the pride of our state. The department is committed to its protection. I have already instructed the PCCF (WL) to undertake a through investigation into the forest fires. All actions are being taken by involving local people to protect our forest.
¡ª Bikram K. Arukha (@BKArukha) March 3, 2021
The fire had spread to Betanoti, Rasgobindpur and Morada forest ranges of the national park, endangering wild animals including tigers, besides burning a large number of medicinal plants, herbs and big trees, before it was brought under control.
This is how Similipal National Park is currently burning? for the last 10 days.
¡ª Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) March 3, 2021
Govt failed to control it & they¡¯re busy on elections. It¡¯s spreading to over 8 ranges out of 20 ranges of this UNESCO biosphere reserve which is the home for thousands of endangered species. pic.twitter.com/1ETvHkRIZl
Local people said that large animals such as tigers, elephants, deer and bears could escape the blaze by shifting to unaffected areas, but reptiles died and many valuable trees including medicinal plants are destroyed in the fire.
How do we classify "big trees" Similipal is spread over 2,750 sq km. Fire has so far devoured eight out of 21 ranges. Are trees, insects, birds, reptiles not big enough? Can conversationalists weigh in? Isnt the fire in Udala/Karanjia south simlipal where all the animals are?
¡ª Akshita M. Bhanj Deo (@TheGreatAshB) March 4, 2021
Environmentalists also fear that animals feeling the fire could become easy targets for poachers.
The fire, which many say was deliberately lit is raising some major concerns as the wildfire season in India is yet to peak, which is during the summers.
Pic 1: Beautiful Similipal during my last visit 2 months back
¡ª Ashutosh mohapatra (@ashumohapatra95) March 3, 2021
Pic 2:Similipal is burning since last 10days but unfortunately no national media coverage.This is the need of the time to work together to #SaveSimilipal . Thanks to @TheGreatAshB for leading this great initiative. pic.twitter.com/LLQKLtZlkA
Similipal is Odisha's oldest tiger reserve and as per the data available in 2020 it was home to eight big cats.
It is also part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve and is home to several species including tiger, elephant, gaur and deer.
Native Voice/ Twitter
It is also part of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve which lies within two biogeographical regions: the Mahanadian east coastal region of the Oriental realm and the Chhotanagpur biotic province of the Deccan peninsular zone.
Similipal which is Asia's second-largest biosphere reserve is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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