The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fire destroys scrub, dry grass in reserve forest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 06, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fire destroys scrub, dry grass in reserve forest

Staff Reporter

Cigarette or beedi stub could have sparked blaze: officials

DOUSING THE FLAMES: Scrub and dry grass were destroyed in a fire that broke out in Nanmangalam Reserve Forest near Tambaram on Monday. — Photo : A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM : Scrub and dry grass were destroyed in a fire at the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest area, near here, on Monday. Before the fire could damage the fully-grown trees, most of them eucalyptus, it was put out by firemen using a fire tender from Tambaram.

The fire broke out around 1 p.m. on the western fringes of the reserve forest area in Sembakkam, adjacent to Velachery Main Road. The fire was not intense and left only vegetation on the ground damaged in an expanse of about one acre.

Though the exact cause of the fire is yet to be established, firemen and Forest department officials suspect that someone may have thrown a lighted cigarette or beedi stub. They said `firelines' around the forest area were clearly demarcated. (Firelines are stretches between the forest areas and adjacent places that are cleared of all vegetation for a width of about 15 feet.) They regretted that domestic garbage was dumped close to these firelines and at times, set on fire by civic workers who considered it as an easier method to dispose waste.

Further, there were also instances of youth venturing into the forest area to attend to nature's call. The dry leaves could easily catch fire from cigarette stubs and matchsticks during summer, officials said.

The officials said they would intensify their operations to maintain a vigil against allowing anyone to enter the reserve forest area.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu