Warangal, Nov. 5: The Forest department is using the satellite-based Global Positioning System to ascertain the extent of deforestation caused due to the forest felling by Naxalites to pave way for the podu cultivation. Worried about the tree felling in huge tracts of the forests at different forest zones, especially the Pasra range, in the district, the senior officials of Forest department got down to the task of enumerating the extent of forest loss.

As the deforestation took place in large areas, the Forest department found it difficult to ascertain the loss through the traditional methods of manual measurement, and a decision was taken to use the latest digital technology of the Global Positioning System. Armed with the GPS-based tools, the flying squads personnel of the forest department are already doing the forest loss enumeration at the Pasra range forests, where the felling of trees was at its worst.

Conservator of Forests Shyam Sundar and the North Divisional Forest Officer A K Jha are frequenting the Pasra forest ranges and are personally monitoring the GPS-based enumeration activity. A total of six flying squads and around 100 Forest department personnel from different wings were sent to the various forest ranges to enumerate the loss. Through global positioning technology, the enumerators take the GPS tools, which will transmit the pictures of the forests to the satellite from there the processed data would be transmitted to the Scientific Project Centre at the district forest headquarters here.

Preliminary estimates reve al that the area of forest loss was to the tune of 2,000 hectare in the district, which accounts for the largest forest loss in the State. In the district, the Pasra forests in the North Division witnessed the worst deforestation by various Naxalite groups, which indulged in large-scale tree felling to facilitate the podu cultivation. As soon as the forest loss was estimated, the Forest department officials have decided to go for afforestation where the loss is heavy to achieve environmental balance.

..DC