PERNEM
A cashew plantation was gutted in a fire near the Government college in Dhargal on Monday evening.
A resident of Dadachiwadi-Dhargal alerted the Pernem Fire Station to report a fire at the cashew orchard belonging to Sulaksha Palyekar.
A fire tender went to the site and extinguished the fire. While property worth about Rs 30,000 was destroyed in the fire, the firefighters managed to save property worth about Rs 50,000.
Locals have voiced concern over a number of fires at plantations and orchards in Pernem taluka.
In many cases, locals said these fires, which have been deliberately set to clear the dried grass, spread to nearby plantations.
In some other cases, locals alleged that fires have also been deliberately set to destroy trees and to create barren lands by land developers.
