Fire breaks out again in Rukhi hill forest

Nayagarh: Barely 24 hours after fire brigades, Forest staffs and local volunteers managed to bring the fire at Rukhi hill forest near Nayagarh town under control on Friday night, fire again broke out on two sides of the forest shortly before noon on Saturday.

Reports said the fire broke out on the southern and western sides of the forest.

Till reports last came in, efforts were on by three teams of the Forest department, along with the fire bridge team and local volunteers, to bring the fire under control.

“Presently three teams are deployed on duty while we have requested the concerned authorities to send two additional teams. Yesterday, we had doused the fire. But today some people set fire inside the forest near Muktapur village. We are trying our best to bring the fire under control at the earliest,” Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Suresh Chandra Hota told media persons here.

Asked whether the fire would pose any threat to the people of Nayagarh town, Hota said there is no such threat.

But he said the area where the fire has broken out is the abode of mouse dear, wild boar and hare which have gone to the other side of the forest for safety. “Till now, we have not found a single carcass of any animal,” he informed.

Reports also said the smoke was still billowing from inside the forest near the Old Town area where firemen and the Forest staffs had doused the fire late on Friday night.