Simlipal park fire under control, rainfall helps

The Odisha government on Thursday claimed that the wildfire, which had been raging in Similipal National Park and nearby forests for over a fortnight, has been contained to a large extent, amid a political slugfest over the crisis ahead of the second phase of Budget session in the State. Sandeep Tripathy, who heads a task force constituted to tackle the inferno, said the situation has been brought under control, and parts of the national park experienced rainfall on Wednesday, which prevented the fire from spreading any further.