Mirzapur, March 15: A massive fire broke out in the Banjari Kalan forest area of โโDrummond Ganj forest range in Mirzapur on Friday evening due to unknown reasons. The forest was burnt to ashes within a radius of about two kilometers. The fire spread rapidly due to strong winds. Many species of trees and herbs including bamboo, palash, tendu, salai, arjun present in the forest were reduced to ashes.
The villagers informed the forest department about the fire at night itself.
At around 11 am on Saturday, forest inspector Abhishek and forest guard Sarveshwar Patel reached the spot with their team and started extinguishing the fire. The flames of the fire were so strong that it could be seen from a distance at night.
Due to the fire, the lives of many wild animals living in the forest have become endangered. Wildlife were forced to run here and there to escape the fire. Many animals died after coming in its grip.
Forest Officer VK Tiwari said that the forest department team is making every possible effort to extinguish the fire. Due to strong winds, controlling the fire remains challenging. The team is trying to control the fire with fire cutting and tree branches. The forest department claims that the fire will be controlled soon.
