Fire destroys vegetation at Chamundi Hill, Gopalaswamy Hill

Mysuru/Bandipur: Fire at Chamundi and Gopalaswamy Hills has destroyed vast areas of flora yesterday.

The fire lit by miscreants has destroyed plants, trees, shrubs and nests of birds atop Chamundi Hill.

It is alleged that miscreants had lit fire on Nandi Statue road atop the Hill in the afternoon and the fire spread rapidly due to wind, destroying everything that came on its way. It is learnt that miscreants had lit fire deliberately at four to five places atop the Hill.

Fire and Emergency Services personnel, who rushed to the spot along with 40 personnel, four large and two small fire extinguishing vehicles, stepped up their efforts to douse the fire. But due to wind, the fire changed its direction and the flames shot up to the top of the Hill including the View Point. Due to extreme heat and strong winds, the fire extinguishing operation was delayed. The fire personnel then began to spray water at the View Point, thus preventing the fire from spreading further. As there was no road for the Fire staff to take their vehicles, they conducted the operation from the View Point itself.

The operation which began at about 2.20 pm, ended at about 5 pm. But dousing the red hot coal due to burning of dry trees went on till 7 pm and hundreds of acres of forest area was destroyed by then. Range Forest Officer (RFO) Dhanyashree, DRFO Satish, Fire personnel, Forest Watchers, Guards and others took part in the operation.

At Gopalaswamy Hill

About 8 acres of forest has been destroyed at Gowri Kallu Gudda Forest area at Himavad Gopalaswamy Hill in Bandipur Reserve Forest limits in Gundlupet taluk yesterday.

The fire was noticed at about 12.30 pm and soon, the Forest staff, who swung into action immediately, managed to douse the fire in a two hour-long operation and prevented the fire from spreading further.

Forest staff from Gundlupet, Gopalaswamy Hill, Kundakere, Moolehole, Maddur and Omkar Ranges took part in the operation. No harm has been done to the wildlife, according to Forest Department sources.

This post was published on March 5, 2023 7:55 pm