The Nilgiris : Coming down heavily on those who are pretending to help the forest department by collecting funds for the rejuvenation of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve which was hit by major forest fires, Sridhar Punati, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has called people collecting funds as frauds.
The Nilgiris : Coming down heavily on those who are pretending to help the forest department by collecting funds for the rejuvenation of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve which was hit by major forest fires, Sridhar Punati, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests has called people collecting funds as frauds.
In a Statement, the Head of the Karnataka Forest Force has said that no such help has been sought by the department to rejuvenate the burnt forests. “Since the fire is mostly ground fire, with a couple of rain, the area will rejuvenate. Our endeavour would be to weed out any lantana that sprouts back, sow local medar bamboo (Dendrocalamus) seed balls with the help of locals to help more fodder growth in the area,” he has said.
Claiming that no outsiders would be allowed to intervene during emergencies like forest fire, the department has said that they would use volunteers only from the local villages who “know to take care of themselves and be at a safe distance from the elephants in Bandipur”.
“The work to put out fire was stopped many times by outsiders who had to be taken care of by us. They came come, participate in our programmes and go. We need not treat them as guests and provide accommodation, etc,” the statement read.
The statement had come following seed ball making programmes conducted in various parts of Bengaluru to help in the rejuvenation of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Some organisations are also reportedly conducting funds from general public to help the forest department.
“We have not come across even a single dead animal carcass after the fire in the fire burnt areas. So also none of the volunteers have notice any such deaths. Some miscreants are giving wrong impression about the fire claiming that all trees and animals are burnt and the burnt areas need to be rejuvenated by planting seedlings and seed balls extensively,” said the Forest Chief claiming it to be a hoax.
In a Statement, the Head of the Karnataka Forest Force has said that no such help has been sought by the department to rejuvenate the burnt forests. “Since the fire is mostly ground fire, with a couple of rain, the area will rejuvenate. Our endeavour would be to weed out any lantana that sprouts back, sow local medar bamboo (Dendrocalamus) seed balls with the help of locals to help more fodder growth in the area,” he has said.
Claiming that no outsiders would be allowed to intervene during emergencies like forest fire, the department has said that they would use volunteers only from the local villages who “know to take care of themselves and be at a safe distance from the elephants in Bandipur”.
“The work to put out fire was stopped many times by outsiders who had to be taken care of by us. They came come, participate in our programmes and go. We need not treat them as guests and provide accommodation, etc,” the statement read.
The statement had come following seed ball making programmes conducted in various parts of Bengaluru to help in the rejuvenation of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Some organisations are also reportedly conducting funds from general public to help the forest department.
“We have not come across even a single dead animal carcass after the fire in the fire burnt areas. So also none of the volunteers have notice any such deaths. Some miscreants are giving wrong impression about the fire claiming that all trees and animals are burnt and the burnt areas need to be rejuvenated by planting seedlings and seed balls extensively,” said the Forest Chief claiming it to be a hoax.