Two days after a massive forest fire broke out at the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, efforts are still on to put out the blaze, according to locals.
Spread across an area of over 100 square km, Bandhavgarh is one of the most popular parks in India in the Vindhya Hills of the Umaria district, about 470km from state capital Bhopal; it is known for Royal Bengal tigers.
The fire is believed to have spread to several zones including one of the three major zones- Magdi. Frightening visuals showed trees engulfed in blaze and vast expanse of grasslands covered in plumes of smoke.
Inadequate resources are believed to be one of the reasons that it is taking so long to douse the forest fire, sources said.
This is the second tiger reserve where a forest fire has raised concern among environmentalists and conservationists. Earlier this month, a similar incident was reported at Odisha’s Similipal Reserve.
“#Bandhavgarh is burning, the forests I have grown up in are on fire. And LITERALLY nothing hurts more than this. Except for the fact that I am not there right now helping the frontline staff in controlling it. We need more support please,” tweeted Suyash Keshari, a wildlife photographer and filmmaker.
