Forest department seeks ISRO's help to tackle wildfires

Bengaluru: Learning from the bitter experience of forest fires, especially like the one which broke out at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in February this year, the forest department is now in talks with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to seek help in detection of fires.

As per the sources a team of senior forest officials on Friday, December 6 evening held a meeting with the ISRO scientists and discussed several issues pertaining to detection of forest fires. Presently, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) provides information about the fire points in the Protected Areas (PAs), but it is usually about two hours old and become difficult for the fire-fighting parties on the ground to attend.

It may be recalled that there were 11 incidents of fire reported in Bandipur Tiger Reserve alone during 2018-19. About 3,160 hectares of forest area was reduced to ashes.