Burning camphor reduces 8 two-wheelers to ash during Bengaluru karaga

Several vehicles were destroyed after organisers lit camphor blocks on a stretch near the Shri Dharmaraya Swamy temple in Thigalarpet on Thursday. DH PHOTOS/Prashanth H G

Eight two-wheelers were destroyed in a fire that broke out during the Bengaluru Karaga near the Shri Dharmaraya Swamy temple in Thigalarpet on Thursday afternoon.

Police said the organisers lit several camphor blocks on a nearby street during the festival, setting off a fire that engulfed the motorcycles parked on the roadside between 1.30 pm and 2 pm.

The fire proved inevitable since the burning camphor was close to the vehicles parked in the sun and their seats and fibre materials were already hot. The Halasuru Gate police tried dousing the fire by spraying water from a tank nearby using a pipe.

A senior officer said people coming to the festival parked the vehicles on the streets despite police banning parking on the roads surrounding the temple.

After the incident, police cleared the charred vehicles and asked the festival organisers not to light camphor on the streets. They registered a case of fire accident following a complaint by one of the vehicle owners.