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3 killed, 2 critically hurt in fire at Maharashtra’s tiger reserve
The fire was doused by around 5pm. But the wind picked up speed in the evening, and another fire broke out
A forest fire that broke out in Gondia’s Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) on Thursday night killed three forest workers and left two others critically injured.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the families of each of the victims and said that the cost of treatment for the injured would be borne by the state.
M Ramanujam, field director and conservator of forest, NNTR, claimed that the blaze had been started by unidentified persons in compartment numbers 97, 98, 99 and 100 of the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary and Pitezari forest reserve – estimated to be about 2,000 hectares in size – around 11:30am on Thursday.
Officials said that some locals abet with poachers and start fires to reduce the density of the forest.
“It took about 50-60 people to put out the fire by around 5pm. But the weather was stormy, and the wind picked up speed in the evening, because of which another fire broke out and spread even faster,” said Ramanujam.
Nitin Kakodkar, state’s principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), said, “This was an unfortunate accident. According to the information we received, a sudden change in wind direction changed the orientation of the fire, trapping five labourers who were helping to bring the blaze under control.”
A huge portion of the lush green habitat is now a vast black terrain without any trace of plant or animal life after the fire. The exact area of damage is yet to be ascertained.
The forest labourers who died in the mishap have been identified as Rekchand Rane, 45; Sachin Ashok Srirange, 22; and Rakesh Madavi, 24. They had been hired by the forest department as fire-watchers for the summer season.
The two injured forest labourers – Vijay Maraskolhe, 40, and Raju Sayam, 30, are undergoing treatment for severe burns at Orange City Hospital in Nagpur. They hail from Thadezari, Kosamtondi and Dhanori villages in Gondia district.
After the fire, villagers from Thadezari – where the labourers hailed from – assaulted a forest official, leading to a violent confrontation between forest guards and residents. The superintendent of police and other personnel rushed to the spot after the violence, reports stated.
“We were not able to assess the damage because we were busy responding to the law and order situation. One of our forest guards was manhandled by the community, who has been protesting. We have assured the families of the victims that they will receive an additional ₹5 lakh from the forest department,” said Ramanujan.
Nagzhira is the home to several species of wildlife, including tiger, leopard, Indian gaur, wild boar, sloth bear, barking deer and wild dogs.
Kakodkar said a similar incident had been reported from adjacent Bhandara district a day earlier, when a labourer employed with the Forest Development Corporation was left in a critical state while fighting a wildfire.
A veteran Indian Forest Services officer, who has occupied senior positions at the Forest Research Institute and in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), said, “Forest fires have been raging in other parts of India too, but we haven’t heard of any casualties from Uttarakhand or Odisha where the fires are more intense. The authorities need to reveal what went wrong here.”
