The Turahalli Reserve Forest in Bengaluru South, off the Kanakapura Road witnessed a forest fire incident on Tuesday afternoon. The fire which was first noticed along the 80-feet road in Banashankari 6th stage in Subramanyapura limits soon spread to the other parts of the forest area close to the Shani temple atop the hillock.
The local apartment residents who spotted the fire immediately alerted the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) officials about the incident. Confirming the fire, Ravishankar SS, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban told DH that the KFD personnel were successful in containing the fire in a few hours.
“We were alerted by the locals at 2:00 pm and soon our officials led by RFO swung into action. By 5:00 pm we were able to contain the fire. It was a ground grass fire and a moderate one. As there were no rains, the surface was dry and interspersed with thick grass bushes and fallen leaves. We are investigating further to ascertain the extent of damage and area that was burnt,” Ravishankar explained.
A local resident told DH that the fire was relatively worse compared to the previous ones as it had spread to a larger area this time. “As the incident was reported during the day and quick action by the KFD officials along with volunteers helped in containing the fire quickly. The department needs to deploy more guards in the area to prevent trespassing,” opined a local resident.
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