231 forest fire cases in Jeypore division this year

Koraput: The Jeypore forest division has recorded 231 forest fire incidents at different locations between Jan 1 and April 21 this year. According to official records, 183 of these incidents were reported within forest areas, while 48 occurred outside forest boundaries. Despite the spike, officials maintained that all reported fires were brought under control.In response to the growing number of incidents, the department has initiated a proactive campaign to strengthen its firefighting preparedness. A mock drill was conducted recently in all the six ranges under the division.Divisional forest officer (Jeypore) Pratap Behera said the drills are aimed at equipping field staff with proper protocols to respond swiftly to fire alerts. “Forest fires occur due to various reasons. While our teams remain alert, fires in deep forest areas sometimes take time to reach and control,” Behera said.The mock drills offer hands-on training, helping officials understand coordination mechanisms, communication with the control room and deployment of firefighting teams, he added.According to Behera, to enhance community participation, members of the Vana Surakhya Samiti are also being involved in the exercises. Awareness campaigns are being conducted in villages to educate local communities about fire prevention and response.Officials pointed out that incidents typically rise during the Chaita Parab in April, when traditional hunting practices often involve setting parts of forests on fire to flush out animals, leading to significant ecological damage.“As part of the outreach, meetings with villagers, street plays and awareness drives in local tribal dialects are being organised to discourage such practices and promote forest conservation,” Debendra Majhi, forest range officer (Jeypore), said.Spread over 2,498 sqkm, the division comprises Jeypore, Boipariguda, Kotpad, Gupteswar, Kundura and Borigumma ranges, with a forest cover of 1,104 sqkm. Around 500 forest fire incidents were reported in the division during the previous summer season.“We were hopeful that sustained awareness efforts and preparedness measures would help bring down the number of such incidents in the coming months,” Behera said.