Fire breaks out in Purna sanctuary,no casualties

Several bamboo trees and plants were burnt to ashes in a fire that broke out in the Purna sanctuary of Ahwa taluka in Dangs district,on Friday morning.

Around 150 acres of deep forest area has been affected by the fire,though no casualty of any bird or animal has been reported till now. The fire brigade officials of Navsari forest officials were able to bring the blaze under control only at night.

The source of the fire is still unknown,said officials,adding that the flames erupted from compartment no. 64 and later spread to the neighbouring compartments,no 63,65 and 66.

The forest staff rushed to the spot after learning about the incident and tried to extinguish the blaze. As Dangs district has no fire brigade facility,the Navsari fire brigade was rushed to the spot to help douse the inferno.

Sources said the entire 64 and 65 compartments comprising bamboo and other trees were smouldered and around 150 acres of the forest area was affected by the fire. The sanctuary houses animals like leopards and hyenas and different species of birds.

Chitranjan Sonavne,the Deputy Conservator of Forest,North Dangs Division said: We are still unsure how the fire erupted,but we will carry out investigations. If we find that the fire is man-made,then we will take strict action against the accused. We have sent our teams to different compartments to find out the causality of any animal or bird.

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