Hyderabad: A forest fire in Amarabad Tiger Reserve, which destroyed 10 acres of forest land in the Domalapenta Forest Range on Tuesday, has once again raised the issue of a long-standing issue which is a challenge for the forest department.
As per the numbers put out by the Forest Survey of India, Telangana recorded 364 forest fires in the last seven days.
Forest Department officials said the information sent by MODIS on NASA satellites is sometimes double-counted because of data recorded several times. Wild life data shows that the Amarabad Tiger Reserve Circle has recorded 58 fires in the past one month, while the Kaval Tiger Reserve Circle at Mancherial recorded 115 fires before the summer set.
To control wildlife in summer, the Forest Department adopted preventive measures with the help of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA) provided by the Union Government. In Amarabad Tiger Reserve, officials of the forest department said that 5 crores is used only for forest protection. “Expenditure from CAMPA fund for forest areas in Nagarkurnool is around 15 crores. For laying fire lines, the expenditure on digging the peripheral trenches reaches Rs 5 crore. The department also uses the funds for the procure of fire fighting equipment”,said Kista Goud, district forest officer, Nagarkurnool.
