Social Media during Bandipur wildfire

In February 2019 huge forest fires broke out several places across the Bandipur National Park in Karnataka, India. The major fires were brought under control on the 24th of February, but some areas continued to burn. According to the assessment carried out by the National Remote Sensing Centre of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on the 25th of February 10,920 acres of land was burnt since the fires started on the 21st of February. The wildfire flared up due to the sudden climate change and rapid growth of dry grass, these fires were spread due to rapid winds.

During these times Indians resorted to use social media application such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp to spread awareness. Prominent members of the society such as members of the royal family, celebrities and political parties used social media to update people about locations where the fire had spread, actions being taken to get the fire under control and to ask for support from people.

Activists used their social media account to encourage the government to take quick actions to save the forest. Shivashankar an eco-activist wrote a letter addressing the government on the 22nd of February, he requested them to use the government’s best resources to put down the wildfires. In his letter he reminded the people and the government the worth of the national parks that were at risk and demanded the government to use the Indian Air Force’s MI-17 V5 Helicopters that could carry 3,500 liters to help save the forests. Along with his letter he provided the public with email addresses of people working at National Information Centre (Government of India) so that they could force the government to take the required steps.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore reached out to his hundred and twenty-seven thousand followers via Facebook. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza prompted people on Twitter to help with the following post.

The hashtag BandipurFire was used to spread awareness, The Janata Dal (Secular) which is the state party of the concerned state also used their Twitter to inform people about the actions that they were taking to control the fires. The hashtag was also used by Twitter accounts pf popular newspaper outlets in Southern India to keep people updated to the status of the fires.