Coimbatore : With the entire southern region being haunted by the relentless forest fire that broke a week ago in Karnataka and extended to the nearby States, officials from Salem Forest Department have sought the help of public in managing such situations.
Coimbatore : With the entire southern region being haunted by the relentless forest fire that broke a week ago in Karnataka and extended to the nearby States, officials from Salem Forest Department have sought the help of public in managing such situations.
In a video released by the department, District Forest Officer (DFO) of Salem A. Periyasamy has sought cooperation from general public in managing post forest fire situations.
“Usually during forest fire, wild animals tend to move out of forests and enter human settlements. We should understand that the wild animals are our wealth and we should always protect them,” he said.
He further requested public to not disturb wild animals that venture out adding that harming wild animals could land people in trouble as wild animals are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Explaining why certain forest roads were closed during forest fire, Periyasamy said that it was done for the safety of the public.
“Bamboos tend to blast and pieces of it could hurt people. Rolling rocks could also harm people. Hence, it became imperative to block all the forest roads,” added the DFO.
Periyasamy also claimed that summer had started early this year, which was also a reason for the easy spreading of forest fire. However, he claimed that most of the forest fires in the region were instigated by humans.
“We are taking several steps to control the fire and the general public have been very supportive in controlling the fire in certain areas. It is also important that people do not create such a situation again by cooking or smoking inside reserves. They should also avoid venturing inside the forests,” he opined.
Salem was one of the districts including Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Dindigul that was affected by forest fire at a large scale. While most of it has been put down, forests continue to burn in Coimbatore, where anti-fire operations were on with the help of general public.
In a video released by the department, District Forest Officer (DFO) of Salem A. Periyasamy has sought cooperation from general public in managing post forest fire situations.
“Usually during forest fire, wild animals tend to move out of forests and enter human settlements. We should understand that the wild animals are our wealth and we should always protect them,” he said.
He further requested public to not disturb wild animals that venture out adding that harming wild animals could land people in trouble as wild animals are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Explaining why certain forest roads were closed during forest fire, Periyasamy said that it was done for the safety of the public.
“Bamboos tend to blast and pieces of it could hurt people. Rolling rocks could also harm people. Hence, it became imperative to block all the forest roads,” added the DFO.
Periyasamy also claimed that summer had started early this year, which was also a reason for the easy spreading of forest fire. However, he claimed that most of the forest fires in the region were instigated by humans.
“We are taking several steps to control the fire and the general public have been very supportive in controlling the fire in certain areas. It is also important that people do not create such a situation again by cooking or smoking inside reserves. They should also avoid venturing inside the forests,” he opined.
Salem was one of the districts including Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Dindigul that was affected by forest fire at a large scale. While most of it has been put down, forests continue to burn in Coimbatore, where anti-fire operations were on with the help of general public.