BANDIPUR RESERVE

FIRE BREAKS OUT AT BANDIPUR RESERVE

A major fire in Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve near Mysuru destroyed over 400 acres of forest land and killed hundreds of wild animals on Saturday. As the fire engulfed core areas of the forest because of strong wind and dry grass, foresters, firemen, wildlife volunteers and villagers struggled to douse it. Foresters suspect the fire, first noticed on Friday near the forest border, was an act of sabotage.

Foresters closed the checkpost gate at Melkammanahalli, the entrance to the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, on the Mysuru–Ooty highway and stopped the wildlife safari. As the checkpoint on the highway which connects to Tamil Nadu was closed around 12.30pm, weekend travellers en route to Ooty were stranded at the Bandipur entrance gate