PERNEM
Cashew plantations were gutted in a fire at Virnoda-Dhargal on Saturday and angry farmers have blamed the contractor involved in the nearby sports project for the fire.
According to locals, farming land of about 9 lakh sq. mtrs have been acquired by the State government to build a sports village in Dhargal and the nearby area is being used by farmers to grow cashews and mangoes.
“On Saturday, a contractor lit a fire to clear grass and bushes at the proposed site. The fire went out of control and destroyed our crops as well,” said Shripad Parab.
“Farmers are still fighting for land that was acquired for the sports village and we had our cultivations in the remaining area. Now, we have been made to suffer all the more due to the contractor’s negligence. We will file a complaint against him,” he added.
Besides Parab, Mukundadas Parab, Sanjay Parab, Prashant Parab and Eknath Parab have also claimed losses to their cultivations.
