Forest fire destroys thousands of trees in K’jhar forest | Bhubaneswar News
Keonjhar: A massive forest fire erupted on Wednesday in the Mitrabhanu forest of Kendua village, Keonjhar district, destroying over 10,000 trees and raising serious concerns about the forest department’s supervision in the region.
Sadar range officer Ajit Das said that the forest was deliberately set on fire. The blaze, which reportedly began around 11.30am in the Sadar block area, quickly spread through the forest named after late forest guard Mitrabhanu Naik. Forest officials and fire department personnel battled the flames for three hours before bringing the situation under control. “Upon receiving information, our teams immediately responded and successfully contained the fire,” said officer Das.
Forest department officials have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made so far.
Locals have blamed the forest department for negligence. “The guards deployed for maintenance are assigned to other duties, leading to poor upkeep of the area,” said a local who wished to remain anonymous. Others highlighted the accumulation of four-foot-high dry grass since Jan and the absence of fire lines—gaps in combustible material or vegetation created to stop or slow the spread of fire—as key factors that made the forest vulnerable.
Developed through CSR funding during 2020-21, the affected forest housed 32,000 saplings spread across 50 acres. The fire destroyed a significant portion of these saplings, including recent afforestation efforts under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMP) grant for 2023-24.
This incident comes on the heels of another recent forest fire in the Patna block area, amplifying concerns about the region’s forest protection measures.
Keonjhar: A massive forest fire erupted on Wednesday in the Mitrabhanu forest of Kendua village, Keonjhar district, destroying over 10,000 trees and raising serious concerns about the forest department’s supervision in the region.
Sadar range officer Ajit Das said that the forest was deliberately set on fire. The blaze, which reportedly began around 11.30am in the Sadar block area, quickly spread through the forest named after late forest guard Mitrabhanu Naik. Forest officials and fire department personnel battled the flames for three hours before bringing the situation under control. “Upon receiving information, our teams immediately responded and successfully contained the fire,” said officer Das.
Forest department officials have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made so far.
Locals have blamed the forest department for negligence. “The guards deployed for maintenance are assigned to other duties, leading to poor upkeep of the area,” said a local who wished to remain anonymous. Others highlighted the accumulation of four-foot-high dry grass since Jan and the absence of fire lines—gaps in combustible material or vegetation created to stop or slow the spread of fire—as key factors that made the forest vulnerable.
Developed through CSR funding during 2020-21, the affected forest housed 32,000 saplings spread across 50 acres. The fire destroyed a significant portion of these saplings, including recent afforestation efforts under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMP) grant for 2023-24.
This incident comes on the heels of another recent forest fire in the Patna block area, amplifying concerns about the region’s forest protection measures.
Sadar range officer Ajit Das said that the forest was deliberately set on fire. The blaze, which reportedly began around 11.30am in the Sadar block area, quickly spread through the forest named after late forest guard Mitrabhanu Naik. Forest officials and fire department personnel battled the flames for three hours before bringing the situation under control. “Upon receiving information, our teams immediately responded and successfully contained the fire,” said officer Das.
Forest department officials have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made so far.
Locals have blamed the forest department for negligence. “The guards deployed for maintenance are assigned to other duties, leading to poor upkeep of the area,” said a local who wished to remain anonymous. Others highlighted the accumulation of four-foot-high dry grass since Jan and the absence of fire lines—gaps in combustible material or vegetation created to stop or slow the spread of fire—as key factors that made the forest vulnerable.
Developed through CSR funding during 2020-21, the affected forest housed 32,000 saplings spread across 50 acres. The fire destroyed a significant portion of these saplings, including recent afforestation efforts under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMP) grant for 2023-24.
This incident comes on the heels of another recent forest fire in the Patna block area, amplifying concerns about the region’s forest protection measures.
Keonjhar: A massive forest fire erupted on Wednesday in the Mitrabhanu forest of Kendua village, Keonjhar district, destroying over 10,000 trees and raising serious concerns about the forest department’s supervision in the region.
Sadar range officer Ajit Das said that the forest was deliberately set on fire. The blaze, which reportedly began around 11.30am in the Sadar block area, quickly spread through the forest named after late forest guard Mitrabhanu Naik. Forest officials and fire department personnel battled the flames for three hours before bringing the situation under control. “Upon receiving information, our teams immediately responded and successfully contained the fire,” said officer Das.
Forest department officials have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made so far.
Locals have blamed the forest department for negligence. “The guards deployed for maintenance are assigned to other duties, leading to poor upkeep of the area,” said a local who wished to remain anonymous. Others highlighted the accumulation of four-foot-high dry grass since Jan and the absence of fire lines—gaps in combustible material or vegetation created to stop or slow the spread of fire—as key factors that made the forest vulnerable.
Developed through CSR funding during 2020-21, the affected forest housed 32,000 saplings spread across 50 acres. The fire destroyed a significant portion of these saplings, including recent afforestation efforts under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMP) grant for 2023-24.
This incident comes on the heels of another recent forest fire in the Patna block area, amplifying concerns about the region’s forest protection measures.
