Fire still burning in Sundarbans, 10 acres of forest destroyed
There is no guarantee as to when the fire might be extinguished without a good amount of rain
The fire in the Daser Varani area of Sharankhola Range in the Sundarbans East Forest Division is yet to be completely extinguished.
According to officials and locals, the fire is dormant and is sporadically burning in different places of the Sundarbans. From Monday till 5 pm on Thursday, two fire has destroyed about 10 acres of forest land.
On Monday, a fire broke out in the Daser Varani area around 12 pm. It was extinguished by 5 pm on Tuesday after a 30-hour joint effort by the fire service, the Forest Department (FD) and locals. Later, on Wednesday morning, another fire broke out on the south side of where the first fire broke out.
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Afzal Hawlader, Khalil Majhi, Nazrul Islam and some others who assisted the FD and fire services in extinguishing the fires said, it seems that more than 10 acres of forest have been burnt in this omnivorous fire.
They said the forest is still burning. There is no guarantee as to when the fire might be extinguished without a good amount of rain.
Md Golam Sarwar, assistant director of Bagerhat Fire Service and Civil Defense, said "Three of our units worked to extinguish the blaze after receiving news of a second fire in the Das Varani area on Wednesday morning. We provided water to put out the fire until five o'clock on Thursday afternoon. But due to the thick layer of dry leaves in the forest, we are facing difficulties to put out the fire. The source of water is also far away."
"The fire is still dormant, sporadically burning many places. As of today, we have completed the expedition," he said, adding, "If the fire is not extinguished by Thursday night, work will resume in the morning."
Joynal Abedin, assistant conservator of forests, Sharankhola Range, Sundarbans East Forest Department, said firefighters stopped watering the area as no more visible fires were seen in the forest until 5 pm on Thursday. However, in some places, smoke was seen coming out from under the trees and piles of leaves. FD personnel are monitoring the matter. If the fire is seen again by morning, the fire service will provide water to put out the fire again.
Mohammad Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer of the Sundarban East Forest Department, said an investigation committee had been set up to find out the cause of the fire and the extent of damage after Monday's blaze.
"After receiving the report of the investigation committee, we will be able to report the amount of deforestation and burnt forest."
He said legal action will be taken against anyone found responsible for the fire in the report of the inquiry committee.
In the last 20 years, there have been 26 fires in the Sundarbans.
