A massive forest fire has struck the Sariska tiger reserve in Rajasthan ravaging more than 10 sq km areas necessitating involvement of 200 men and two IAF helicopters to douse the fire.
The fire had started on Sunday evening and was brought under control on Monday. But a few hours later, it flared again and continued till Tuesday evening. The Forest Department asked people of nearby villages not to enter the forest area.
“The IAF, on being asked by Alwar district administration, has deployed two Mi 17 V5 helicopters with Bambi Bucket for fire control operations that are going on,” said an official.
According to the 2018 tiger census, Sariska houses 11 tigers even though the state forest officials claim that the number of big cats in the tiger reserve has increased to 27.
While the root cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, Rajasthan is experiencing a heat wave for the past few years. Barring one, every Rajasthan district registered 40 degree Celsius on Monday with Alwar recording a maximum temperature of 41 degree Celsius. The heatwave in northwest India is likely to persist for the next seven days.
District Forest Officer (Sariska) Sudharshan Sharma said the helicopters made eight rounds till Tuesday evening. "The area under fire is at a height due to which there are difficulties in firefighting," he said.
The officer said the fire was spreading due to dry grassland and bamboo trees.
Last march, Simlipal national park in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha witnessed a large-scale forest fire that continued for more than a fortnight.
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