Gadag: Forest department staffs, including the range forest officer, have gone into hiding, fearing legal action after a farmer woman died protesting against the move to reclaim the bagair hukum property at Kappatagudda in Gadag District.
The wildfire has destroyed the vegetation on more than 50 hectares of Kappatagudda forest near D Narayanapur in Dambal Gram Panchayat limits. The wildfire, which started on Friday March 11 and continued till Saturday night, destroyed valuable forest resources, including rare medicinal plants.
After being booked in connection with a bagair hukum farmer killing herself after a dispute at Keluru near Dambala last week, many Forest Department employees, including the RFO, have gone into hiding.
According to sources, a case has been filed against 14 people, including the range forest officer and the staff, in connection with a dispute over bagair hukum land that resulted in the death of a woman farmer.
Environmentalists and people’s organisations have expressed their concern with the administration’s indifference to the hill range’s valuable medicinal herbs and rare reptiles. Activist Gonibasappa Korlahalli requested the government to deploy foresters from neighbouring districts to Kappatagudda during the summer when wildfires are frequent.
