the goan I network
MAPUSA
Fire to dry grass turned into a major fire-fighting operation along the National Highway (NH-66) near Guirim, even as traffic had to be diverted through Mapusa city for more than two hours on Saturday afternoon.
The fire was finally brought under control at around 6 pm and the national highway was thrown open to normal traffic.
Huge plumes of smoke fanned by strong winds emerged from the fields and drifted across the national highway (NH-66) at Guirim near the Hotel Green Park.
The thick cloud of smoke made visibility near to zero along the highway and caused major disruption of traffic which had to be diverted through the city roads.
Fire personnel were called at around 1.12 pm and arrived at the scene within minutes.
Traffic police also rushed to the site to control the movement of traffic.
The fire personnel were unable to enter into the fields/thick vegetation to reach to the source of the fire, since the whole area is marshy land.
With blowing wind, the fire soon spread to other areas throwing thick clouds of smoke, which moved rapidly across the highway.
Finally, the fire personnel had to make use of turn table ladder procured from the headquarters to douse the fire.
“It’s marshy land and our personnel could not get access to the source of the fire. The fire was over vast area and the wind spread it quickly,” said Bosco Ferrao, Station Fire Officer, Mapusa.
No injuries were reported, but some residents of Bastora were affected as the smoke drifted through the village.
“I felt a little bit of discomfort as we were forced to inhale the smoke which moved towards our side due to the wind. What if the smoke was accompanied with some poisonous gases,” asked Andrew D’Souza, former deputy sarpanch of Bastora. The motorists were also inconvenienced as traffic to Mumbai and most parts of North Goa had to be diverted through the city roads. The cause of fire has not been determined but sources at the fire station informed that it could be the handiwork of the field owners. “Some people deliberately put fire to the grass to clear the fields,” a fire official informed. Three fire tenders, one each of Mapusa, Pilerne and headquarters, were used to extinguish the fire. Station Fire Officers, Krishna Parrikar (Panaji) and Bosco Ferrao (Mapusa) were overseeing the operation, as fire officers of Mapusa and Pilerne fire stations were engaged in the fire-fighting operation.
