Nabarangpur district is battling with forest fire every year. Sources said wildfire is seen in forests of Jharigaon, Chandahandi Ghat, Kuhudi, Chacharaghati, Malgaon,Hatigaon, Timanpur and Nuakot areas for last several days.
Hundreds of hectares of forest land have been destroyed due to the wildfire. New saplings planted by the Forest Department have also been destroyed in the fire.
The situation was taken up at the district emergency meeting and the forest officials are trying their best to contain the wildfire. It was informed that equipment have been provided to forest personnel to identify forests where fire is reported.
A senior forest official said fire extinguishers were provided to the division. Besides, special teams to keep a watch on fire points in forests were also deployed.
Sources said villagers residing in the forest fringe areas are also to be blamed for the blaze. The forests are being set on fire specially for maize cultivation.
As per information, wildfire is spreading in Barli forest under Maidalpur forest section in Papdahandi block for last two days. Soon after the fire, forest officials rushed to the spot and were trying to contain the flame. Similarly, in bordering Timanpur and Hatigaon forest wildfire is spreading. Sources said that Hatigaon Reserve forest is connected with the forest of bordering Chhattisgarh State. It is alleged that wildfire from Chhattisgarh forest are spreading in Hatigaon Reserve forests.
As per information, in Nabarangpur, more than 700 fire points are identified every year.
Contacted, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Dhanurjay Mohapatra said most of the fire is caused by locals for cultivation purposes and to reduce the incidence, awareness is being created in forest fringe villages.
On Thursday, a mega fire camp will be inaugurated at Dabugaon where members of around 180 Van Suraksha Samitis (VSS) are likely to attend, ACF Mahapatra stated further.