India: The Forest Department will use satellite imagery to ascertain the devastation wreaked by forest fires in Bandipur (Karnataka, India). It is estimated that around 1,000 acres destroyed in Bandipur, while around 200 acres was lost on the fringes of Nagarahole in the latest fire that took place on 13 March.
The last time such major fires broke out in the Bandipur–Nagarahole belt was in 2012 when 2,158 hectares were lost in Bandipur while 2,080 hectares in Nagarahole was destroyed. The worst affected was BRT Tiger Reserve where more than 4,800 hectares of forest land was reduced to ashes. The authorities had refuted the figures initially and called them exaggerated, but satellite imageries and ground assessment proved the extent of damage.
Source: The Hindu
