Action takes place at the scene with the help of images received from NASA.
Highlights
Madhya Pradesh model of fire control has been appreciated by the Government of India. Measures are taken at the site of incident in less than an hour. Plan to implement SOP across the country including Uttarakhand.
Saurabh Soni, Naiduniya, Bhopal: The Central Government has praised Madhya Pradesh’s Forest Fire Control SOP (Standard Operating Procedure for controlling forest fires). On this basis, a similar SOP is being prepared by the Government of India. This includes efforts made to extinguish forest fires, information about fire through public participation in the Agni portal and efforts to control it, including patrolling by forest staff. 
Public participation has proved to be the most effective way to prevent incidents of fire. The Union Ministry of Forest and Environment is now talking about doing the same experiment in Uttarakhand. Recently, the Union Forest and Environment Secretary had also said in a meeting of states that Madhya Pradesh’s SOP should be implemented across the country.
NASA satellites are also used to prevent fire incidents. Forest fire locations are detected by MODIS sensors on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites. Fire control measures are taken at the site of the incident in less than an hour.
Causes of forest fires
Let us tell you, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India conducted a study on the causes of forest fires in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand in May 2023. It was found that forest fires occur due to both natural and man-made reasons.
Wildfire disaster
The Government of India had considered forest fires in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh as a disaster. Better management was done to prevent these incidents. The result was that while 19,660 hectares of forest was affected by fire in Madhya Pradesh in the year 2021, only 4496.11 hectares of forest area caught fire in the year 2023. This year only 1190 hectares of forest area caught fire.
One lakh people registered on the portal for public participation
More than one lakh people have registered on the Van Agni portal. These people immediately inform the nearest forest staff on receiving information about forest fire. They also help in extinguishing the fire.
The forest department makes the villagers living in the villages adjoining the forest area aware of the damage caused by forest fires. Due to this, the villagers are now alert and take measures to control the fire in collaboration with the forest staff.
This experiment has proved effective in Betul district and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. These are the two forest areas where incidents of fire have been the most frequent. But from the year 2023 till this July, incidents of fire have reduced by 75 percent.
This is how control was done
When villagers set fire to the fields, the forest staff monitors it. Forest staff is deployed in forest areas where fire is likely to occur. By downloading the app designed for forest fire control on the mobile phones of the forest staff, they reach the site of the fire quickly with the help of satellite images.
Due to public participation, incidents of forest fires in Madhya Pradesh have reduced by 75 percent. The Government of India has appreciated our efforts.
– Dilip Kumar, PCCF Protection Forest Department, Madhya Pradesh