A fire that broke out in Ragigudda near Shantinagar in the city turned trees, including teak and eucalyptus grown on over 20 acres of land, into ashes.
A 20-member team, comprising firefighting staff and forest guards, doused the flame that spread across the hill quickly in their five-hour long operation.
Sources in the forest department said that though it is a revenue land, the forest department had planted trees on the hill after taking it on a lease basis. The total area of the hill is around 103 acres. Of it, the trees, grown on over 20 acres, were burnt completely. They suspected that it is the handiwork of some miscreants and not a forest fire.
The fire that broke out on the hill engulfed over 25 acres of land quickly due to dry leaves. The locals alerted firefighting staff who rushed to the spot to douse the flame around 11.30 am. But they had an uphill task as the flame was spreading quickly due to wind. After a five-hour-long operation, they doused the flame with the help of forest guards.
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