Images of burnt animals in Bandipur fake: Karnataka Forest Chief
Bandipur: A major fire has broke out at the Bandipur forest area for last three days. Which has now reportedly spread across 8 km stretch, and has affected wildlife in the forest area of India’s major Tiger Reserve. Bandipur has the highest number of big cats across the India.
For last five days, officials at the Bandipur reserve are busy fighting one of the devastating forest fires reported in the state’s history with, thousands of acres of forest land burnt down and the fire and forest officials still struggling to control the fire.
Amidst the fight against fire, the officials are also battling to tackle the social media army, which is firing in images depicting a horrible condition of the wildlife. Images showing several animals lying dead on the forest land, due to the fire, have been doing rounds on social media applications.
Punati Shridhar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), who heads the Forest department, spoke to Vartha Bharati over phone call on Monday and rubbished all such reports and added that the wildlife has not had much of an impact and so far they have not come across any dead animal, in their operation.
Shridhar, who himself is in the field along with other officials in Bandipur, added “We haven’t come across any dead animal so far, the pictures on social media must be of somewhere else, we are in the field and there is no wildlife deaths reported”.
“Animals are heat sensitive, whenever such fire breaks out anywhere, the animal migrate to safer spots of the forest to adjust with the heat” he said.
However, in a report published in Times of India, adds that it noticed a Python, burnt antlers of a deer and squirrel burnt alive. To this Shridhar told vartha Bharati "It might be true, a little damage to the wild life will definitley be there, and those burnt animal must be very young, who couldn't move to the other parts of jungle in time. But the damage is being exaggeratedly shown on social media, and a wrong image of the current situation here is being shown".
Speaking about the cause of fire Shridhar said “We know that this is an act of sabotage, and it is a man made fire, the forest officials had in last few weeks initiated action against a few people here, and this act, we suspect is their retaliation”
“So the common people should be careful of what they share about the incident, as sharing such pictures can also be a part of the conspiracy of those who conspired the whole incident” Shridhar added.
“We have definite clues about those responsible for setting off the fire, but for now our priority is to stop the fire first and then take action”
About the current situation at the forest reserve he added “We have called for Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers to assist us dousing the fire”.
He hoped that the officials will win over the fire by today evening while adding that the fire was doused on Sunday evening, but due to winds, it took pace again on Monday morning.
Bandipur, which accounts for one in every four Tiger alive in India is also home to several wild animal, and is also a tourism spot.
Below are some of the images that are being circulated on social media, claiming it to be of Bandipur forest, which the officials termed to be fake. Upon more investigations, Vartha Bharati found out that same images were being forwarded and circulated after the California Wildfire in November 2018.
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Metro ridership in Haryana sees over 13 pc rise in 2025-26
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana's urban transit system witnessed a strong growth in 2025-26, with metro ridership registering a robust 13.55 per cent increase, the state government said in a statement on Thursday.
The progress was reviewed in the 64th board meeting of Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi.
Between April 2025 and February 2026, the metro network recorded over 1.74 crore passengers, compared to 1.53 crore in the corresponding period the previous year.
July recorded the highest monthly growth at 22.93 per cent, while all months showed consistent positive trends.
Financial performance has also remained strong, with fare revenue rising 12.64 per cent till January 2026, the statement said.
Non-fare revenue surged by 108 per cent, driven by effective monetisation of station spaces, advertisements and commercial activities, resulting in an operating surplus for Rapid Metro.
Further initiatives, including the auction of station naming rights and additional advertisement sites, are expected to strengthen HMRTC's financial position, the statement said.
Appreciating the performance, Rastogi stated that the consistent rise in ridership and revenue reflects the success of Haryana's integrated transport strategy, rising commuter confidence and a clear shift towards public transport.
HMRTC Managing Director Chander Shekhar Khare said that, alongside operational gains, the state is making steady progress on an ambitious pipeline of metro and regional transit projects.
Metro connectivity from Gurugram Sector 56 to Panchgaon is under active consideration, with Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited studying the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and layout plan, and finalising a depot location in Sector 36A near Sihi village, he said.
The Gurugram-Faridabad Namo Bharat corridor has achieved a key milestone, with alignment and station locations finalised and approved by the Haryana government. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation is preparing the DPR, he added.
Similarly, the Delhi-Kundli metro extension is proposed to be placed before the Haryana Cabinet for approval.
The 136.3-kilometre Delhi-Panipat-Karnal RRTS Corridor has also progressed, with the revised DPR submitted for financial concurrence ahead of Haryana Cabinet consideration.
Within Gurugram, DPR preparation has been approved for key intra-city corridors, including the 17.09-kilometre Bhondsi-Subhash Chowk-Rajeev Chowk-Sohna Chowk Railway Station corridor, enhancing connectivity along Sohna Road, Khare said.
