MAPUSA
A fire broke out in a forested hillside of Parra in the early hours of Wednesday which threatened to spread to areas in Anjuna and Arpora-Nagao, affecting almost two lakh sq metres area making it the first major forest fire incident reported in Bardez.
Fire personnel of Mapusa and other fire stations, local youth, members of Parra panchayat and forest officials were on their toes to douse the fire till late in the evening.
President of Parra Comunidade, Benedict D’Souza informed that the fire was brought under control in the evening but wondered how such fires have been ravaging the forests all over the State simultaneously.
The affected hill belongs to Parra comunidade.
“The plantation on the hill was carried out under social forestry. It’s a dense forest. We do not know what is the exact cause of the fire on this hill but it’s a bit surprising that all forest fires are happening at one time. Is somebody doing it deliberately? or…we need to find out,” D’Souza said.
He said an area of around seven lakh sq metres of the forested hill belongs to Parra comunidade.
“Around 2 lakh sq metres coming under three survey numbers have been affected by the fire,” he said.
The comunidade president informed that the forest department normally cuts the dry grass and also removed the leaves in the forested land but this year they had not done so.
Initially, the fire started on a small patch of land up on the hill but later spread fast to other areas sending panic signals among the locals and the panchayat members.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who was on his routine workout at the Parra football ground on the foot of the hill early in the morning, noticed plumes of smoke erupting from the thick vegetation on the hill and quickly alerted the Mapusa fire office and the police.
Since the fire brigade could not reach the spot, around five to eight firefighters physically climbed up the hill and began to manually douse the fire.
However, dry grass and leaves became easy fodder for the fire to spread to other areas on the hill. By noon, the intensity of the fire increased and it started spreading faster to other areas.
“Wherever the firefighters were able to reach swiftly, the fire was contained. Deep inside the vegetation, it would take time to douse the flames,” a fire official said.
Later in the evening, more personnel from other fire stations joined the firefighting operation. Forest officials also arrived at the spot and along with the local youth and panchayat members worked till late in the evening to put off the fire.
“We have done our best to douse the fire and bring it under control. Since it’s almost dark, we have stopped the fire-fighting operation,” said Vishnu Sawant, a fire official who was involved in the fire-fighting operation.
According to the Calangute MLA, this was the first time the Parra hill has witnessed a fire and blamed it on negligence for the incident.
“This fire incident is man-made. Some local youth go up the hill to have fun and indulge in smoking. An unextinguished cigarette butt could have caused the fire. At times, the boys also light fire to roast the cashew nuts. The youth should behave responsibly and ensure that the fire is put off properly,” Lobo said.
He also suggested that a space of at least 15 metres from the road/footpath leading up the hill should be cleared from dry grass as has been done in other States to avoid such fire incidents.
