ROURKELA: The Rourkela forest circle has launched an extensive drive with a target to halve wildfire incidents this season.
Rourkela regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF) P Ramaswamy on Monday said about 5,190 forest fire incidents were reported last season in Sundargarh, Bonai, Rourkela, Keonjhar and Deogarh divisions.
“The target this year is to reduce incidents to 2,595. Fire-prevention activities have already begun after district collectors approved fire plans for their respective districts,” he said.
Notably, Rourkela forest circle oversees five divisions across Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Deogarh. The RCCF said as part of preparedness, 37 coordination meetings have been completed at division and range levels.
Hoardings and boards displaying control room details have been installed along national and state highways. He urged commuters and the public to promptly inform the Forest department on spotting forest fires.
At least 653 fire-fighting squad members have been deployed across the five divisions, supported by 41 vehicles for rapid response.
As many as 832 fire blowers have been supplied to forest personnel, and mock drills conducted to ensure safe handling and prevent injuries. So far, around 700 awareness camps and nearly 3,000 meetings of Van Suraksha Samitis have been held.
The Forest department aims to create 5,090 km of fire lines in vulnerable areas, around 70 per cent of works for which has been completed. For early warning, the Rourkela and Bonai divisions together are using six AI-enabled surveillance camera systems.
Ramaswamy said the ground beneath around 37,000 mahua trees has been cleared so that villagers can collect flowers without burning dry leaves. Contact details of around 1,000 forest staff and stakeholders have been uploaded to the Forest Survey of India’s Van Agni geo-portal for real-time monitoring and quicker response. Additionally, 140 machans have been installed at strategic points for night surveillance, with assistant conservators of forests serving as nodal officers in control rooms.
He said most forest fires are caused by burning paddy stubble and dry leaves for mahua collection besides the use of fire while hunting small animals.
The five divisions together cover 19,802.39 sq km, with a total forest area of 8,99,904.77 hectare.