LoP writes to Odisha CM over forest fire

Bhubaneswar, Mar 12: Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik on Friday wrote to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urging for necessary actions to control forest fire in the state. He also urged to constitute a high level team comprising of local public representatives to curb wild fire. Naik also sought a probe into wild fire inside the world's renowned biosphere Similipal Tiger Reserve that has caused a headache for the authorities and wildlife activists. Odisha state administration has completely failed to bring the flame under control, said the Opposition Leader. Naik said fire has spread in 8 of the 21 forest ranges of Simlipal forest, famous for its tiger and elephant populations, home to a large variety of other flora and fauna, including 94 species of orchids, 55 species of mammals, 304 species of birds, 60 species of reptiles, 21 species of amphibians, 38 species of fish and 164 species of butterflies. It is also one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country having the largest zone of Sal trees. In Similipal, the north and south parts of the tiger reserve have been reported close to 300 fire points, the problems are more towards the fringe areas. It will have adverse impact on the climate and the environment too. Not only Similipal, but also forests in other parts of the state like in Nilgiri, Boudh, Kandhamal, Koraput, Ganjam, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar are also burning, he mentioned in his letter.