MULUGU/HYDERABAD: A rare weather phenomenon left waste thousands of trees some estimates put the figure at over one lakh across 200 hectares in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary between the Medaram-Pasara and Medaram-Tadvai roads. While there was no loss to fauna, the ecological damage, described by some environmentalists as a squall, is incalculable.
Alerted to the devastation, Panchayat Raj Minister Dansari Anasuya alias Seethakka said on Wednesday they never expected that around one lakh trees would be uprooted.
According to forest officials, trees like neem, banyan, peepal and others bore the brunt of nature’s fury. Leopards have been spotted in the sanctuary spread over 81,200 hectares though they seldom venture to this area.
Experts too said that they had never witnessed such an occurrence before. Elusing Meru (IFS), the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Protection and Vigilance) (FAC), told TNIE: “This is a very rare incident and very unlikely in a state like Telangana. This is probably the result of high winds and cloudburst. Special parties of the forest department are assessing the extent of damage caused by this weather activity.”
IMD officials too said that the activity on August 31 appeared to be a localised tornado effect.
Senior IMD officials told TNIE, “This is a highly localised convective activity. We are examining the exact nature and cause of the event. However, our preliminary observations are that it was an effect of thunderstorm activity and strong pressure deficiency, giving it a tornado effect.”
Environmental experts concurred with the observations that it could be a result of thunderstorms and heavy rains.
Environmentalist Donthi Narasimha Reddy said: “What happened in Mulugu seems to be a squall, a localised storm or sudden gusty winds, a very unusual weather condition, due to heavy rains and thunderstorms. Such occurrences are common in West Bengal and the northeastern parts of the country but very rare in a geography like Telangana.”
Most of uprooted trees were young
Narasimha Reddy added: “As of now, we don’t know the speed of the squalls, but from the extent of the damage we have seen, we can say that it must have been more than 90 kmph. Another thing to be noted is that the winds must have been diagonal, unlike the regular horizontal winds, because the horizontal winds do not have the potential to cause such a massive destruction. Moreover, the trees that have been uprooted are part of a plantation and not a forest and these are very recent plantations with an age not more than 10 years. Forest trees are aged over 50 years and above and deeply rooted and they can sustain intense winds, which was not the case here.”
Seethakka telephoned RM Dobriyal, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force, as well as Kaleshwaram Chief Conservator M Prabhakar and Mulugu District Forest Officer (DFO) Rahul Jadhav Yadav and directed them to submit a detailed report on the tree damage in Mulugu district. Seethakka was informed that some rare medicinal plants too were damaged.
Seethakka appealed to Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay to bring the issue to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav. She stated that the forest officials are enumerating the loss of trees in the forest area with the assistance of drone cameras. She directed the district forest officials to send a detailed report to the Union government.
Following Seethakka’s instructions, Dobriyal, Prabhakar and DFO Rahul visited the area. The DFO told reporters that the devastation occurred on August 31, possibly due to localised strong wind pressure and a cloudburst. He said that the incessant rains appeared to have led to soil erosion, contributing to the uprooting of the trees. A drone survey confirmed massive devastation, with thousands of trees of various types being uprooted.
Additionally, a field survey is being conducted by forest staff to obtain a more accurate assessment of the devastation.
The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) have been requested to investigate the incident in Mulugu district, the DFO said. The exact cause of the uprooting will be determined after their inquiry, he said.