Nagpur: There is no let up in forest fires and Maharashtra continues to occupy the third spot nationally after Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in this regard. On an average, over 250 fire incidents are being reported daily in the state with over 856 in the last four days.

In a fresh incident, a 20 hectare reserve forest was devastated in Ambazari Biodiversity Park on Sunday. According to Hingna RFO Ashish Ninawe, the fire spread after Madhav Netralaya Trust, Wasudeo Nagar, burned its garbage on its plot.

“The fire that spread at 4.30pm was brought under control at 7.30pm with the help of NMC fire tenders. We have detained one suspect for interrogation and are inquiring,” said Ninawe.

As reported by TOI quoting real-time fire incidents by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), in the 37 days from March 1 to April 6, 2022, 13,706 fires have been reported in Maharashtra.

In the last four days, 856 fires have been reported in the state and several large forest fires are active, though the department is making all-out efforts to douse the flames.

Madhya Pradesh has reported 2,155 fresh fires incidents in the last four days, followed by Chhattisgarh (1,606), Odisha (1,206) and Telangana (522). Most of these fires are man-made, for better yield of tendu and mahua flowers.

In Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Amravati district, from February 1 to March 31, there were 77 fire incidents in which over 850 hectares forest has been devastated. Jayoti Banerjee, field director & CCF, said, “The reserve’s fire cell is going the extra mile to extinguish fires effectively.”

She said the fire cell works 24x7 in three shifts of eight hours each. After getting FSI alerts, the spot where the fire is reported is mapped and the fire cell staff informed. “This helps to put fires under control quickly,” said the field director.

Banerjee herself sends alerts to employees and is also conducting spot visits to boost the morale of the field staff. MTR is spread over five districts of Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim, and Yavatmal and territorial forest areas have also been included in the fire-fighting plan.

The field director admits that considering the undulating terrain and hilly region, fire-fighting is a herculean task in Melghat. “Many times fires could not be noticed even from watchtowers. Even if we locate them, reaching these spots is simply arduous,” she said.

Among all the wildlife areas, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) seems to have been less affected. The park received nine fire alerts and only 2.5 hectares area was affected this season.

“We have set up a fire control room in the TATR office, which is monitoring forest fires in both core, buffer and even territorial areas,” said Nandkishore Kale, deputy director (core).