MYSURU: In yet another incident of forest fire at Chamundi Hills, at least 100 acres of forest and land belonging to one of the mutts was reduced to ashes on Friday.
The fire, which was first noticed in land belonging to Adichunchanagiri mutt at the foot of Chamundi Hills off Nanjangud Road at around 2.30 pm, spread uphill and the surrounding areas. The thick, tall, dry grass in the region and the blowing wind contributed to the spread of fire.
The Forest Department staff, led by DCF V Karikalan, who rushed to the spot doused about 90 per cent of the fire with the help of six fire tenders by 5 pm.
Karikalan said fire at a linear stretch near Gowrishankar Nagar is yet to be doused and it would be done soon. It was a ground fire and the tall trees haven’t been affected much, he added.
Noting that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he quoted some of the locals as saying that the fire may have been triggered by an electricity transformer explosion. He, however, pointed out that Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) officials had ruled out this possibility.
“Soon after the fire, I alerted CESC who disconnected power to the transformer. But after it was resumed, the transformer was fine. If it had exploded, it would not have been working fine when the power was restored,” he said.
A portion of Chamundi Hills was engulfed by fire on Friday. The fire broke out around 2.30 p.m. outside the hill boundary in the area belonging to the Adichunchanagiri Mutt. However, it spread beyond the mutt boundary and engulfed 40 to 50 acres of ground vegetation. Deputy Conservator of Forests V. Karikalan told The Hindu that six fire tenders have been pressed into service, apart from nearly 50 Forest Department staff and an equal number of local residents, who volunteered to help douse the fire. Though the fire, which was spreading in an upward direction, was contained and brought under control by 5 p.m., high winds stoked the flames that spread sideways. A section of the local community said they heard a blast and suspected that one of the transformers had burst, causing the fire. “We informed the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation, which inspected the transformers ,” said Mr. Karikalan. This is the second major fire in Chamundi Hills this year.
40 to 50 acres of ground vegetation engulfed in flames
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