BENGALURU: The forest department on Monday banned trekking in all protected forest areas, which include tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries among others, and other fireprone reserve forest areas till the summer season ends or till they receive a few spells of rain.
The move comes a day after a forest blaze in Theni of neighbouring
Tamil Nadu claimed the lives of 10 trekkers.
“Kurangini Hills in Theni, Tamil Nadu, where the incident happened, is a hillock with grassland cover at many places. It is difficult to survive if such patches catch fire. Karnataka too has many such grass-covered hillocks where people regularly venture out for treks. Since it’s summer, we’ve instructed forest officials concerned to ensure they don’t allow trekking in forest patches,” principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) C Jayaram told TOI.
Jayaram said some forest patches prone to fire hazards in the state include hillocks of Madikeri and Pushpagiri in Kodagu district, Kuduremukh, Mullayanagiri and Bababudangiri in Chikkamagaluru district and Kodachadri bordering Shivamogga and
Udupi districts.
“Some forest officials are sensitive enough to put curbs on their owns on treks during summer. However, in the wake of Tamil Nadu incident, we have issued a fresh communication to all forest divisions to ensure they don’t allow trekkers into fire-prone patches,” he added.
The PCCF said even experienced forest guards will find it difficult to escape from raging fires on grassy hillocks. “The fire spreads fast even with 10kmph wind speed,” he added.
Another official said the department is looking at imposing curbs even on ecotrails at hillocks around Bengaluru if the destinations are found to be fire prone. The seven ecotrail destinations, where the Karnataka Eco Tourism Board organises regular treks, include Skandagiri in Chikkaballapura, Savanadurga in Ramanagara and others in
Tumakuru and Bengaluru Rural districts. The ecotrails cover a range of terrain like forests, rocky hills, old forts and temples.
Dozens of forest fires have been reported around Bengaluru over the past month. Forests on the slopes of
Nandi Hills witnessed at least half a dozen fires during the last fortnight, while Turahalli reserve, on the outskirts of the city, reported at least two blazes last week. During a forest blaze near Kabini, IFS officer Manikandan S was trampled to death while he was in midst of fire-fighting.
On Sunday, 39 trekkers, mostly students, were trapped in a massive forest fire in Theni, forcing the district administration to press
Indian Air Force helicopters for rescue operations. Ten have succumbed to burns and suffocation. The event was organised by Chennai Trekking Club to mark Women’s Day and the team members were returning from the trek when they got trapped on a hillock, surrounded by fire.
