Mysore: Men are trying to revive greenery that was destroyed by men. Determined to revive the lost vegetation and green cover in the fire-hit forest in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, the Forest Department has taken up sowing of seeds of different varieties of trees, bamboos and grass. Interestingly, only native varieties of trees that are found in abundance in Bandipur and nearby Nagarahole Tiger Reserves are being planted to maintain ecological balance.

Record wildfire season — the root cause is man-made fire — this year destroyed millions of trees in Bandipur and many areas have been burned so severely that natural regeneration is not possible, making replanting necessary. What was once a verdant tiger landscape has been reduced to black soot  and ash. As a damage control mechanism, the Forest Department has decided to replant the destroyed areas.

The Department has already started the process of sowing seeds and as it has been raining since the last 15 days, the sowing activity will bear fruits when the seeds begin to sprout. The Department has identified over 2,500 acres for reforestation in the first stage and seeds are being sown under the leadership of Assistant Conservator of Forests Ravikumar and Gopalaswamy Range Forest Officer N.C. Mahadev.

Good rains since a fortnight: Over 14,000 acres of forest was destroyed at Gopalaswamy Hill and Kundkere ranges in the last week of February due to wildfire. “We have been receiving good rains since a fortnight and as the weather is conducive, the first phase of sowing has been started,” said T. Balachandra, Director, Project Tiger, Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

He added that the 1,200 square kilometres Tiger Reserve will look green again with vegetation in the next three to four years when the trees will grow full size. Seeds are being sown along National Highway 67 (Bandipur-Ooty Road) from Melukamanahalli village till the Gopalaswamy Range that were ravaged by fire. Seeds will be sown on both sides of the road so that once the seeds sprout, the soot-covered land will      look green.

No need of volunteers for seed sowing: It may be recalled here that the Forest Department had earlier stated that it does not need any kind of seed ball campaign or financial support to rejuvenate the Tiger Reserve. The Department also said that it has not asked anyone to contribute funds for the same.

“If anyone is collecting funds in the name of development, it’s pure fraud. Since the fire was mostly ground fire, within a couple of rains the area will rejuvenate,” Punati Sridhar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), had said in a media communication.

“Some are conducting seed ball making programmes besides raising funds from public. No outsider will be allowed to come to the burnt area and intervene. During fire-fighting early this year, volunteers, who came were more interested in    taking selfies rather than helping us to put out fire. It became difficult to manage the big crowd and some of our attention had to be diverted to take care of them, consequently hampering fire fighting works.

Hence no outsiders will be allowed in our forests hereafter for emergencies,” he noted.

10,000 seeds of different tree species procured

Seed varieties: Over 30 Department employees are on the job and they are identifying suitable places for seed sowing after removing the soil’s top layer that has been covered by ash and charcoal. Over 25 tonnes of wild bamboo will be planted inside the forest as dry bamboo was the biggest casualty during the fire. Native species including Honge (2,500 kg), Sandalwood (500 kg), Ficus (200), Yelachi (470), Tamarind (200), Hebbevu (4,000 kg), Holedasavala (13), Gobbalimara (110), Shivane (14) and Hemata (1,500 kg) will be planted.

T. Balachandra, Director, Project Tiger, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, said that 10,000 seeds of different tree species have been procured from Karnataka State Seeds Corporation Limited, Department Seed Banks, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and 25 tonne wild bamboo seeds have been brought in for replanting process.