Two wildlife sanctuaries — Silent Valley National Park and Wayanad — have been closed to visitors since Friday following high fire risk.

Scanty summer showers and dried vegetation have heightened the fire risk in most of the protected areas of the State. The restriction on tourism activities and curbs on visitors were enforced at the sanctuaries to minimise risk of fire, said V. Gopinath, Chief Wildlife Warden, Kerala. Though sporadic incidents of fire were reported from some forest areas in the State, the situation was under control, Mr. Gopinath said.

Minister for Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar will formally launch on Monday the Vanadeepthi scheme of the Forest Department at Pathupara under the Pathanapuram forest range.

The scheme envisages rural afforestation by reviving natural forests. Vanadeepthi will be launched on a five-hectare spread at Pathupara. It was earlier a social forestry spread where acacia and eucalyptus were grown.