The minor 'forest fires' on the Andhra Pradesh-Chattisgarh border in Chintoor agency are ignited by the local tribes to collect mahua flowers, which is used to prepare a drink with addictive properties. Traditionally mahua flowers are collected from the ground in March-April when they automatically fall from the tree. In the summer months, the mahua trees shed leaves in the initial stage, which are set on fire by these tribals to clear the ground for picking up the flowers shed by the tree in the next stage.
On March 24, a forest fire spread across a few hundred meters in a 30-kilometre forest stretch dotted with mahua trees was recorded by the local communities between Chintoor and Edugurallapalli. Traditionally, the local tribals have been setting fire to the leaves after they drop from the Mahua tree to collect the Mahua flowers.
"This practice of setting fire to the leaves was rampant in the agency till a few decades ago. However, it is believed that many tribals still practice it to collect the mahua flower", said Subhani Syed, a Chintoor-based social worker. In Chintoor agency, Mahua flower collection is the prime activity in the summer for a majority of the tribal families to generate an additional income due to its commercial value.
"Most of these Mahua flowers collected by the local tribals are procured by traders from Chhattisgarh", said a senior forest official.
Absence of a mechanism
"The Forest department should have a mechanism to tackle the forest fires. The Fire Tracing Lines (FTLs) must be marked by the Forest department in the strategic locations to prevent the spread of the forest fire from one area to the other. But there is no such mechanism in place in our forest cover", another activist working on tribal livelihood options said.
A huge chunk of Reserve Forest (RF) cover on the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh State border in Chintoor agency is home for mahua trees. The Chintoor Divisional Forest Officer V. Saibaba told The Hindu; "We have appealed to the tribals not to resort to setting fire to the forest as part of the Mahua flower collection. A ground-level campaign is also being taken up in the weekly markets, persuading the tribals to stop the practice."
