BELAGAVI: The wildfire which had engulfed a vast stretch of the lush-green Western Ghats in Goa in the last 10 days has left a trail of destruction. Even as the Goa government has been able to douse the fire to a great extent, the fire has damaged a vast stretch of area in the Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the Karnataka-Goa border.
To effectively take the situation under control before it causes more damage to the flora and fauna in the Western Ghats along the border, the Goa government has decided to team up with the Karnataka government to control the raging fire. According to sources, Goa and Karnataka will work out an inter-state strategy to control the fire.
The efforts of the nodal officers from both states would be bolstered by real-time information sharing. All the top forest officials in Goa have been directed to maintain a high state of alert and ensure deployment of fire watchers at critical spots, and conduct extensive patrols along the border between Goa and Karnataka, sources said.
A top forest officer from Goa, A Jebastin has been designated as its nodal officer for effective coordination with Karnataka to control fires across the forests of Goa and Karnataka. The Goa government has requested the Karnataka government to notify its nodal officer for effective management of the crisis situation.
“The Goa Forest authorities are actively monitoring the situation with regard to the forest fires and the ground team is acting swiftly to put out the flames, if any. The Indian Navy has deployed helicopters with large area aerial liquid dispersion equipment mounted on them to carry out sorties to douse fires,’’ sources said.
Vishwajit Rane, Minister for Forest, Urban Development and Health, Goa state tweeted about the latest situation of forest fires in Goa, stating “As of 4 pm on March 14, there were zero active fires. Approximately 300 personnel are deployed for a close vigil. All spots having the potential to recur, like Derodem, Surla Mhadei, etc., are constantly monitored.’’
He appreciated the youth of Tisk Usgao area in Goa who wholeheartedly volunteered to assist the Goa Forest authorities over the past four days in putting out the fire in Piliye Dharbandora.