Achievers News: With the mercury soaring, several Odisha districts are witnessing an alarming rise in incidents of forest fires. According to experts, the dry forest floors and absence of rain are responsible for these forest fires, which are destroying the flora and fauna in the state.
Forest fires have been witnessed in Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Koraput, Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Ganjam, Angul, Deogarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts of the state. According to the Forest department, fire incidents have been reported from the Champua division of Keonjhar, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Paikmala under Bargarh division and reserve forests in the Brahmagiri area of Puri district. As a result, Forest department officials and those residing inside as well as near the affected forests are now praying for rain to douse the fires. The incidents of forest fires are increasing every day – there were 1,395 fire points in forests across Odisha on Monday compared to 1,380 fire points on Sunday, said Forest department officials. Quoting data released by the Forest Survey of India, officials said that 295 fire points were reported from Koraput circle on Monday. There were 256 fire points in Baripada circle, 203 in Berhampur circle, 185 in Bhawanipatna circle, 105 in Sambalpur circle, 97 in Angul circle and 53 in Bhubaneswar circle.
The situation is the worst in Odisha. A total of 594 major fire points were reported from across the country on Monday and the number of fire points in Odisha was 158, followed by 112 in Andhra Pradesh, 91 in Karnataka, 57 in Telangana and 45 in Chhattisgarh.
