Forest officials in Chittoor district are gearing up to prevent forest fires as temperatures rise to a menacing 45° C in several parts of the district.
Chittoor West division, spread over a vast region covering Chittoor, Palamaner, Kuppam, Madanapalle and Punganur ranges, remains vulnerable to forest fires in May.
Except for the Koundinya wildlife sanctuary between Kuppam and Palamaner ranges, the rest of the jungles are dominated by shrubs and wild grass, prone to forest fires.
The Madanapalle range, which covers the Horsley Hills, witnessed forest fires in the previous years, resulting in devastation of a large stretch of forest at Mallaiakonda hillock in 2016. The same year, several hectares of forest was destroyed at Puligundu tourism resort.
In the Chittoor East division, the stretch at Panapakam, flanked by the western side of Seshachalam hills and Penumuru, would witness regular forest fires in the summer. Due to the high elevation of hills, it became difficult for the firefighters to douse the fires on many occasions. The jungle covering Moghili, Bhakarapet and Karveti Nagaram ghat sections, Ubbalamadugu near Satyavedu, Pitchatur-Srikalahasti road, and Adavaram forests, are also prone to forest fires.
Smugglers’ tactics
In view of the movement of red sanders smuggling operatives, the thick forests of Talakona would be kept under special watch during summer, expecting mischief from the trespassers. There are instances of woodcutters from Tamil Nadu resorting to deliberately starting forest fires in the Seshachalam hills in order to give a tough time to the forest department.
A senior forest official said that the risk of forest fires would be high in the month of May due to excessive heat and complete drying of the grass on the slopes of the hills. From the first week of June, coupled with possibility of summer showers in May, the threat would slowly come down.
Manpower crunch
It is also observed that due to shortage of regular staff and non-availability of skilled forest workers and lack of sophisticated fire-fighting gear, there is bound be damage to the forest cover each summer. Divisional Forest Officer (Chittoor) T. Chakrapani said that the staff at all forest ranges was alerted to the possibility of forest fires.
