A fire in the community forest of the Mahabharat mountain range in the southern region of Kavrepalanchok has been brought under control starting today. The fire started on Tuesday afternoon in the Mahabharat jungle, located at Thamlekh Danda in Khani Khola Rural Municipality-1.
The fire spread to the Bethanchowk Rural Municipality’s Mahabharat area, prompting a helicopter-based operation on Friday to extinguish fires in Ramitedanda and Jwanethumka to protect settlements. Although the fire had been severe in the past few days, it is now under control, according to the Division Forest Office in Dhulikhel. Officer Chinikaji Shrestha mentioned that with the support of the helicopter, security personnel, and locals, the fire was controlled. He added that while the fire was controlled after a week, smoke was still rising from some larger tree stumps.
Around 100 hectares of forest in five community forests of Khani Khola and Bethanchowk Rural Municipalities were severely damaged by the fire. According to Shrestha, the Chisapani Community Forest, Muldanda Chorende Community Forest, Janajagriti Community Forest, Bethanchok Narayansthan Community Forest, and Narayansthan Community Forest were among those most affected.
In the meantime, following the fire in the tourist area of Bethanchowk Narayansthan, access had been restricted from Wednesday, but it was reopened today. Village head Bhagwan Adhikari confirmed that the area has been cleared for visitors now that the fire has been controlled. He also mentioned that internal and external tourists were initially barred from visiting the forest areas of wards 1, 2, 3, and 5, including the Narayanan Temple, due to risks from the fire.
The fire is also believed to have caused significant damage to valuable medicinal plants and wildlife in the area. The Forest Office will conduct monitoring of the affected plants, important trees, and the habitats of wild animals and birds in the region.
