India News | Pench Tiger Reserve to Hold Competition in 45 Buffer Zone Villages to Prevent Forest Fires
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. People of 45 villages falling in the buffer zone of Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra have been counseled about the need to prevent and control forest fires, an official said on Tuesday.
Nagpur, Feb 22 (PTI) People of 45 villages falling in the buffer zone of Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra have been counseled about the need to prevent and control forest fires, an official said on Tuesday.
The Pench Tiger Reserve has seven ranges spread over 741 square kilometres, comprising a core area of 430 square km and a buffer zone of 311 square km, he said.
"There were 15 incidents of fire in PTR in 2018 in which 285.17 hectare area got burnt. In 2019, there were 26 fire incidents in which 291.45 hectare area got burnt. In 2020, there were seven fire incidents, reducing an area of 13.05 hectare to ashes. In 2021, the number increased to 54, leaving an area of 619.14 hectare singed," he said.
"PTR has organised a competition among 45 villages of the buffer area for prevention and control of forest fire. Since most fires are man-made, it is imperative to involve people. The programme will start on March 1 and continue till May 31. It will be assessed by an evaluation committee, with fortnight reports being collected from villages," said Kulraj Singh, deputy director of Pench Tiger Reserve.
He said scoring will be on points such as formation and performance of the team of local youths in fire prevention and control, farmers not burning fire in their farm land, no use of fire in tendu and mahua collection, use of net for mahua collection, avoiding grazing in forest land, developing fodder bank in villages etc.
The three best performing villages will be given Rs 51000, Rs 31000 and Rs 21000, he added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)