Goa, one of the most attractive tourist destinations in India and the world, has been fighting fire for over six days.
Forests in Goa have been burning with Indian Air Force and Navy choppers dumping thousands of liters of water on the hotspots to douse the raging fire.
As per the state forest department, nearly 48 incidents of fire have occurred since March 5 in government forests, private land, common land, private forests, fields and hilly areas.
The joint firefighting efforts, involving more than 530 forest personnel and volunteers helped douse 14 fires on Saturday, including the major ones at Anmod Ghat, Dramapur-Sarzora hillock, Kalay, and at Satrem where fires have been reigniting every alternate day.
Forest department staffers and fire services personnel are struggling to put out the fire as many of these areas are difficult to access.
Dead trees, fallen logs and dried leaves are fuelling the fires.
Further, strong winds and high temperatures are also flaming these fires.
“The long dry spell with almost no rain since mid-October coupled with unprecedented high summer temperature and low humidity have resulted in a conducive atmosphere for fire, which has been aggravated by high winds observed in the past couple of weeks, particularly after sundown,” informed Goa forest department.
However, as per reports, Goa expects to have lower temperatures and increased humidity for the next week that will help contain the flames.
Reason behind these fires?
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant says it is possible that this disastrous situation is man made, hinting at the cashew planters within the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary who may have started the fire as part of the cultivation process.
Reports suggest that the Goa forest department has informed the Central government that slash-and-burn agricultural techniques have also been observed in several areas.
The Union ministry based on the forest department's report informed that, "Large swathes of grassy plateaus are observed to have been burned, maybe primarily for promoting new grasses.”
"The local populace, depending upon herding of cattle, is known to practice slash and burn technique in grazing lands and grasslands," the report added.
The latest update on Goa forest fire
As per the information released by the forest department until Saturday active fires continue to burn at nine locations in areas which are part of protected forests.
Meanwhile the forest department officials are rushing to new locations where fresh fire incidents have been reported. This includes a private property in Valpoi and areas in Vagheri hills.
As per reports, minor fires were also reported in Taleigao, Batim, Dabolim, Gogol and Advalpale.
In a statement to Times of India, an official said that the fire department is on high alert and the situation is being reviewed from close quarters and that necessary instructions are being issued from time to time to contain the fire.
A 24x7 control room to get real-time inputs
Earlier this week the forest department established a 24x7 control room to receive real-time inputs from Forest Survey of India. The Forest Survey of India is sending fire alerts detected by Aqua and Terra satellites of NASA and SNPP-VIIRS sensor.
PMO monitoring the situation
Goa forest minister Vishwajit Rane informed media that the Prime Minister's Office, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav and defence minister Rajnath Singh are monitoring the firefighting efforts in Goa.
