About six-seven villagers were trapped in the devastating fire and of them, three women were burnt alive following the fire. The deceased were identified as Subhadra Janpat Meshram (40), Chandrakala Ramrao Sidam (35) and Sheela Maroti Pandor (18). One of the injured villagers was identified as Ravindra Koru Dandane (35) while the identity of another one is yet to be ascertained. Both of them were rushed to the Yavatmal civil hospital, reports added.
Sources informed that the fires swept fast through more than 800 hectares of forest within a few hours, ravaging many trees in the area. It has still not receded and spreading fast due to strong winds blowing in the sanctuary. This is probably for the first time when villagers became victims of forest fire in Vidarbha. What exactly triggered the fire has not been ascertained yet.
Forest fires have an adverse impact on the ecology. A large number of arboreal creatures as also insects and reptiles could have been died in the conflagration. A number of the small animals had died owing to their inability to escape from the blaze. It is estimated that more than 500 hectares of green cover could have been lost in the fire, reports further claimed.
Villagers alleged that the wildlife sanctuary officials did not create fire lines at several places in the area which are mandatory for them. Fire lines prevent the fire from spreading to other areas.
“We got the information about the fire late last night and immediately sent a team there to extinguish it. We are increasing manpower there against the blazes," informed Kishore Mishrikotkar, the assistant conservator of forests, Vidarbha region. He admitted that hundreds hectare of forest of the sanctuary were badly hit by the raging fire. Read the full report here.
Source: Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times, Nagpur.
