Dhenkanal: Panic gripped the people of a village in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district as fire from a nearby forest spread to their farmland on Saturday.
According to sources, the fire started from the reserve forest at Anantpur under Kamakshyanagar Western range in the district. After turning the forest floor and many trees into ashes, the fire spread to the farmland of Kanpura and Ektali villages near the forest.
As dry paddy plants are standing in the cultivated land after the harvest recently, the fire spread rapidly devouring several acres in no time. Alarmed by the fast moving fire, the villagers attempted to douse it with water and beating it with green tree branches. On being informed, Fire Brigade and Forest officials reached the villages and tried to bring the fire under control.
The villagers suspected that some miscreants might have started the fire in Anantpur forest at night and it spread due to dry forest floor. “Our entire village is surrounded by the fire. Our farmland and threshing ground have been engulfed by the ravaging fire. We feel panicked as the fire will reach the village unless it is controlled soon,” said Padmanabh rout, a villager of Kanpura.
Another villager Sudhakar Rout said, “Some miscreants must have started the forest fire. No villager would commit such dastardly act. We hope the Fire personnel would extinguish the fire completely so that it does not spread to more areas.”
