KARWAR: It was not a prank, but two foreign tourists fell for it. They were on a trip to Gokarna when they noticed fire on a small hillock near Kotitirtha in Gokarna. They immediately started dousing the flames with twigs. Passersby who noticed the same thanked the foreigners for their ‘environment-friendly action’.
But little did they know that the fire was lit by the Forest Department itself as part of their fire control drive. When the foresters arrived on the spot and explained about the exercise, the foreigners and paparazzi disappeared.
The entire scene was recorded on mobile phones and the same went viral on social media with a tag that “some miscreants set dry grass on fire at a hillock near Kotitirtha and foreign tourists doused it”.A forest officer said they were surprised to see tourists dousing the fire. “For their own safety, we asked them to get away from the fire and told them about the exercise. After that, they left the place. We could not collect their details, but we only know that they are currently on a tour to Gokarna,” he said.
Uttara Kannada district has more than 70 per cent forest land and as part of forest fire control programme, the department takes up fire line clearance activities every year in the district. A senior forest officer said a majority of the forest fire incidents are accidental fire as fire catches leaves and spreads to the forest. Therefore the department takes up fire line clearance activities where the forest staff lit dry leaves and grass near the road.
Ashok Basarkod, Chief Conservator of Forests (Canara Circle), said after the rainy season, the department chalks out plans and prepares itself to handle forest fire incidents.“We identify sensitive areas and go through previous fire reports. Based on that information, plans are made and staff are deployed in sensitive areas,” he said.