Every summer, forest fires raging on the slopes of hills is a common sight across Vellore district. To prevent them, which are mostly man-made, the Forest Department has already put in place precautionary measures and has formed fire lines across all forest ranges, including vulnerable areas.
With the onset of summer, officials of the Forest Department have taken up work to prevent fires in both the Vellore and Tirupattur forest divisions. It is common for miscreants to set fire to dried up lemon grass, known as ‘manjam pul’ found in abundance on the hills in various parts of Vellore and Tirupattur during summer.
“We have already completed creation of fire lines in Vellore division - Arcot, Odugathur, Gudiyatham, Pernambut and Vellore. Fires usually occur from February to May. This year, we are keen on preventing them to the maximum extent possible. We are determined to reduce the number of fire accidents,” Sumesh Soman, District Forest Officer, Vellore, said. Till February this year, nearly 30 incidents of forest fires have been reported in Vellore. Parts of Pallikonda Reserve Forest (RF), Kottamalai RF, Naickaneri and Amoor were problematic spots, he said.
The department, he said, had created awareness among villagers by distributing pamphlets and warned of action against those who set fires. These notices were also pasted on rocks and government buildings, and the message was conveyed to villagers of adjoining areas through beating of drums.
In fact, the department has registered four cases and arrested five persons for trespassing and creating accidental fires.
An official of Tirupattur Forest Division added that measures to prevent forest fires were part of routine procedures followed every year.
Local residents roped in
“Every year, we are supposed to appoint forest watchers for this purpose. We have roped in local community through the village forest committees to help us and inform us. We have published awareness materials urging people not to commit offences,” he said.
“We have created fire lines for 60 km in each forest range to stop the spread of fire. We formed the lines inside forest areas in vulnerable spots in December,” he further said.
He added that most of the department members were registered with the Forest Survey of India and received alerts on forest fires on their mobile phones.
“We have established protocols to react and respond. We have a small crisis management centre at the District Forest Office to monitor and assist. This centre acts as the facilitator,” he said.
The official said mostly the fires were man-made. The abundant growth of lemon grass in Yelagiri Hills was highly vulnerable to fires. “The lemon grass has dried up now. It is the cause of fire in most cases,” he added. He added that an integrated approach had been put in place by creating fire lines and involving the local community.
