The glowing garlands of fire lighting up the distant hillside are a scintillating sight to behold. But it comes at a heavy price: Irreversible damage to the forest and its inhabitants. Countless ground fauna including monitor lizards, mongoose, snakes and frogs, are reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. Entire generations of birds that nest on the ground are lost forever.

Similipal has a unique microclimate: It sees occasional afternoon showers during the summer months that act as natural fire controllers. There are, however, certain years wherein dry spells last for more than two-three weeks which spells disaster for the Similipal National Park.

In the past, firefighting in Odisha was limited to clearing fire lines and isolating fire-affected areas. The department, on the other hand, has been allocating larger budgets for firefighting for the past seven and a half years. Odisha's annual firefighting budget is now estimated to be Rs 50 crore. Temporary fire squads with air blowers, vehicles, and safety wire are included. 

The current state of affairs also reveals a lack of supervision on the part of senior park management. Local officials even refused to hand over the director's and deputy director's tour diaries, which had been requested under the Right to Information Act. With such low levels of transparency, it's not surprising that public oversight of their governance is limited. 

The forest fires that have ravaged some areas of the forest — and continue to do so — are a symptom of a larger problem plaguing India's priceless biosphere reserve. The rot is spreading because there is the little political will to save Similipal.