Staff in the forest department have been working non-stop to douse forest fires reported in many parts of the district.
The officials are dousing the fire reported at the peak of Singarigudde in Belthangady, DCF Mangaluru Division Dr Dinesh Kumar Y K said.
Forest fires at Konaje and Bagimale in the Subrahmanya range are now under control. In the past 10 days, around 100 to 150 acres of land in the forest have been ravaged.
“As and when the forest fire is reported, officials are extinguishing it. We are hoping for early showers to give us some respite,” he said and added that fire incidents were reported in Belthangady, Subrahmanya and Uppinangady ranges.
‘’The reasons behind the fire are being ascertained. It may be due to the spark from an electrical wire that passes through the area and in some instances could be man-made. Nearly, two acres of land in the reserve forest in Matada Majalu in Charmadi Gram Panchayat in Belthangady taluk was destroyed on Thursday midnight,’’ he added.
The fire was noticed in the government land situated by the side of the road and later spread to the forest.
DRFO Ravindra Ankalagi said that with help of local residents, they were successful in dousing the fire in the wee hours of Friday.
The local residents have urged officials to form local committees to douse the fire immediately.
Fire also destroyed 50 acres of land at Maji in Thumbe. Three fire tenders had been engaged in dousing the fire. It is suspected that spark from
the transformer caused the fire.
Published 10 March 2023, 16:35 IST