E-Paper
Seven tourist vehicles burnt in a forest fire incident in Mulshi
The incident occurred near Lotus Point in Ekole village, which is in close vicinity to Tailbaila Fort
Seven vehicles belonging to tourists were allegedly burnt due to a forest fire incident that occurred at Lotus Point in Mulshi tehsil. The incident was reported on Sunday between 8:30 to 10 am and six two-wheelers along with a car were reportedly burnt in this incident. However, the Forest Department refused any forest fire incident reported from the said location on February 13. Meanwhile, there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities due to fire.
The incident occurred near Lotus Point in Ekole village, which is in close vicinity to Tailbaila Fort. The tourists had ventured to this area for a weekend getaway. They parked the vehicle on private land near the tourist place and went to roam around, after which the incident occurred.
An FIR was registered about this at Paud Police Station by Ganesh Bhujbal, a resident of Hinjewadi whose two-wheeler was also burnt in this incident. As per the report, 6 two-wheelers and one four-wheeler worth ₹16, 64, 000 were burnt completely in this incident. The tourists involved in this incident are all the residents of the Pune district.
Speaking about the incident Bhujbal said, “We were not at the spot when the incident happened, it came to our notice when almost all vehicles got burnt. When we reached the spot, we saw that people were trying to control the fire albeit without success. Although the grass was seen burnt it is still not sure whether the incident happened due to a forest fire, or someone deliberately set the vehicle on fire.”
Tushar Chavhan, deputy conservator of forest said, “ The incident did not happen on forest land. The area was private land with grass vegetation. Also, no forest fire incident was reported on Sunday from the said area. “
