4 arrested for forest fire

Four people have been arrested for attempting to set fire to the forest at Metikuppe Reserve Forest Range in Mysore district on Tuesday night, said C P Yogeeshwara, the Forest Minister in the Council on Wednesday.

HD Kote police are investigating the case, Yogeeshwara said replying to a query during the Zero Hour. The recent forest fires are the handiwork of miscreants and not a natural phenomenon, he reiterated.  The ongoing inquiry by the officials has revealed that miscreants lit the fire at many points of a particular forest range, so that it becomes difficult for the department staff to douse the fire. The fire spreads fast as the bamboo trees have dried and temperature has increased due to scanty rainfall.

The forest fire has damaged 4,000 hectares of forest land, including 2,000 hectares in Nagarahole, 972 hectares in Bandipur, 240 hectares in Biligirirangana Betta and 270 hectares in Shettyhalli forest range.

New equipment

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Yogeeshwara said the government has decided to procure modern fire fighting equipment to arrest the spread of forest fire.

“We will talk to the Fire department and purchase equipment at the earliest,” he said. The equipment will be kept in each forest division for use in emergency.

The officials had said that manual fire fighting was laborious and ineffective when the fire is severe. Yogeeshwara said adequate number of firemen and watchers had been appointed and the department was working round the clock to prevent the spread.