Odisha's Similipal Reserve Forest in grip of 'man-made' wildfire; five arrested

Five people were arrested as the "man-made" fire in the Similipal forests in Odisha continued to spread to more areas.

The world-famous Similipal Reserve Forest located in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha has been once again in the grip of wildfire for the last three days.

Forest department officials have arrested five people for setting Simlipal Forest Reserve on fire "with the intention of hunting wild animals." It was alleged that the fire must have been started by the local people for hunting wild animals and burning dry leaves to collect Mahua flowers.

The outbreak of fire in Similipal Reserve has increased the risk of destroying many species of fauna and flora, especially many rare and rich plants with medicinal properties.

The fire broke out in many places, including Gudugudiya and Talabbandha, due to which hectares of forest were burnt to ashes. Though the forest department has deployed around 700 officers and 500 blowers to tackle the fire, this is not enough.

Due to the rapid increase in the spread of fire due to high temperatures and extremely dry conditions, the firefighting units deployed so far failed to contain the fire. Conditions are not conducive to fighting forest fires.

Exactly a year ago, in March last year, massive forest fires engulfed vast parts of Similipal, India's largest biosphere reserve.

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