BENGALURU : After completing the tiger census in two prime tiger reserves of India — Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves — the Karnataka forest department has started the exercise of creating fire lines, with controlled burning, which has been mistaken by many activists as forest fire. So instead of spending time and energy on creating fire lines, the forest officials were busy on clearing doubts on whether or not it was forest fire.
“Due to the prolonged monsoon period and presence of moisture, the exercise of creating fire lines was delayed to January and February the from usual November-December,” said Nagarhole Tiger Reserve Director Mahesh Kumar.
In case of Bandipur, images were being circulated on social media with messages that the forest is on fire and many tigers have died. Chief Conservator of forests, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, V Karikalan said, “This is not true. Controlled burning has been done all along the road sides. No wildlife death has been reported.”