At Least 2500 Hectares Destroyed In Massive Forest Fire At Bandipur; Confirmed As An ‘Act Of Sabotage’

A massive forest fire that engulfed Bandipur National Park in the Gopalaswamy Betta region in Karnataka, and continued to rage in for four days has been finally doused, The Times of India reported.

ToI quoted principal chief conservator of forests, Punati Sridhar, who confirmed that the massive fire was an “act of sabotage”.

“We have definite clues about those responsible for setting off the fire,” Sridhar said. He also added, “Our probe is continuing. The forest department recently took strict action against certain offenders and we suspect they were trying to retaliate.”

The intensity of the fire was so high at one point in time that it spread to the main road near the Hill. Bandipur-Ooty highway was closed for over four hours to ensure the safety of travellers. As late as Sunday (24 February), teams from the forest department, fire service brigade and volunteers fought a valiant battle to contain the fire close to Tiger Road area of the reserve.

Bandipur had experienced major fires in 2012 destroying 1,000 hectares and again witnessed a fire in 2017 gutting 2,000 hectares. A young forest guard Murigeppa Tammangol had lost his life while trying to douse the fire in 2017.

The state chief minister H D Kumaraswamy took to Twitter and said that the state government was closely monitoring the situation.