Authorities  are scrambling to put out the forest fire that has been raging in Mahadevsthan, Bara, for the last 15 days.Birendra Yadav, a resident of Kalaiya Sub-metropolis-16, said settlements near Mahadevsthan forest are at risk as the fire is spirals out of control. “The District Forest Office (DFO) and forest users’ groups are not putting in enough effort to avoid the imminent disaster,” he said.

District Forest Officer Bhairab Prasad Ghimire said strong wind condition has been fuelling the forest fire.

“All efforts to control the fire have been negated because of strong wind that is sweeping though the region these days,” he said. 

The forest office has already spend around Rs 300,000 in forest fire management this year. Bara district has around 47,000 hectares of forest land managed by the DFO and various forest users’ groups.

Forest fires are common here during dry season. Nearly 60 percent of the district’s forest cover was affected by fire last year. “Since most forest fires are started by humans, we have a strong suspicion that the fire at Mahadevsthan was started by cattle herders,” Ghimire said.