CONTAINING FOREST FIRE IN RAYAGADA
Rayagada (Badal Tah): On the onslaught of Summer season, fire breaks out in several forest patches of Rayagada forest division. The reason is mainly man made. Either it is to facilitate shifting cultivation or to collect non-timber forest products like Mahua, sal seed, etc. Ohol Sachin Annasaheb, IFS, DFO, Rayagada has initiated immediate actions which includes mobilizing very efficient fire fighting teams under his guidance, utilizing available firefighting equipments, creating firebreaks, engaging local communities to assist in suppression efforts, etc. He has been very successful in coordinating with the Department staff to monitor the fire’s spread and access potential hotspots, all while prioritizing the safety of personnel involved.
Fire watch towers were utillised, aerial surveillance conducted to identify fires early & a network of local informants to report potential fire outbreaks was eshtablished. Recently in Gumma forest beat of Rayagada Range Sachin personally visited the fire incident site at night to investigate the root cause. He interacted with the staff, advised raising awareness among locals and emphasized frequent vigilant and patrolling to prevent forest fires. He along with Pratya Prakash Indakar- Probationer DFO (IFS), Assistant Conservator of Forests Shri Sandeep Kumar Prusti, Gumma Forest Guard Lavonya Majhi, Kumbikota Forest Guard Sameer Kumar Sahu, Rafkana Forest Guard Pradeep Kumar Sahu and all other forest personnel working in Gumma section quickly cleared firebreaks around vulnerable areas to prevent further fire spread. Deploying well-trained firefighting teams with necessary equipment like fire beaters and back-pack pumps was a great help. The team with a vision of disaster preparedness visited various forest patches in villages namely Kadupadu, Gumma, Titijhola, Rafkona, etc. and brought the forest fire under control.
