PERNEM
A cashew plantation was gutted in a fire at Bhomu Devsu in Korgao on Friday, causing huge losses to the farmers.
The farmers tried to extinguish the fire but failed and the fire spread to other areas. The Pernem fire station was alerted and a fire tender could only extinguish the fire by the roadside on account of the difficulty in accessing the interior areas of the plantation.
The affected farmers said they had cultivated their barren lands and planted cashew trees which had started yielding fruits. The trees gave a good crop every year, but this year the farmers will not have any crop on account of the fire.
Social activist Umesh Talvanekar insisted that the government should pay some compensation to the affected farmers.
