Fighting wildfires: Forest wing seeks chopper

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: The Karnataka forest department will submit a proposal to the state government seeking permission to buy a chopper to douse the fire in dense forests during summer.

In fact most developed countries in the world use choppers to extinguish fires at the peak of summer in places where fire tenders are not able to reach. Forest Minister Umesh Katti said the choppers would come in handy for the department to douse fires that would occur during the summer due to friction of trees or those caused by miscreants. The department staff would extinguish the ground fire but would find it difficult in case the fire broke out at the peak of the mountain. At that time, the personnel have to trek and put out the fire with bunches of green leaves. In view of the difficulty faced by the department, a proposal would be submitted to the government to give permission to buy the helicopter before the onset of summer.

For better fire management, the department, in association with National Forest Survey and Remote Sensing Agency, has set up a Forest Fire Management and Analysis Centre to attend to such cases. With the help of this cell, satellite pictures and information technology would be used to locate forest fires. This would help in effective controlling of forest fires at the time of a disaster.

Amount set aside Katti said Rs 50 lakh had been set aside to set up temporary centres of the Fire and Emergency Services department at vantage positions to attend to emergencies in the shortest time possible. The Fire Department has been cooperating with the Forest Department whenever a forest fire occurs. Watch towers have been set up to identify fire spots and find vulnerable places. Wireless sets are used for proper coordination among department staff at the time of an emergency. Presently, Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers are used whenever a major fire breaks out in tiger reserves and national parks.