The devastating fire that broke out in the Sundarbans on Wednesday afternoon came under almost control on Friday evening. The fire gutted some two kilometers area in East Zone of the Sundarbans under Morelganj upazila in Bagerhat, reports our Morelganj Correspondent.
Sultan Siddique, a forest official of the East Zone, said that the forest and Fire Service workers struggled hard to douse the blaze. The blaze is now under control, he said. Morelganj upazila fire station officer M Ariful Haque said that the fire is now totally under control and the firefighters on Friday evening left the area towards the station.
Divisional forest officer (DF0) of the East Zone M Amir Hossain Chowdhury said although the fire has been tamed, the forest
guards would remain in that area for one more day to watch for further development.
Our Correspondent adds: The fire fighters and the forest workers resumed their operations on Friday morning and continued to douse the fire along with the locals still in the evening.
The ‘Poyshotti Chila’ area near the Chadpai range of the forest’s East Zone caught fire on Wednesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether the fire was an act of arson or an accident. Some locals said that fishermen might behind the incident, as their movement in the water bodies of Sundarbans will be easy in absence of jungles. Wild animals live in the jungles, which are threat to the easy movement of fishermen.
Witnesses, however, said smoke was seen rising from some parts of the world’s largest mangrove forest even on Friday afternoon. Despite vigorous efforts by firefighters, forest guards and local people to tame the blaze, several acres of forest lands with hundreds of Sundari trees were burnt down by the fire before the time it was doused.
Meanwhile, a three-member probe committee, headed by Abul Kalam Azad, assistant conservator of Chandpai range of the East Zone, was formed on Thursday to find the cause of the fire and to estimate the damage. The committee, formed by the Forest Division, has been asked to submit its report within three working days.
According to some probe reports on previous incidents, fires broke out in the low-lying areas of the southern and northern parts of Sharankhola and Chandpai ranges because of heat wave and strong winds towards the end of spring and beginning of summer every year.
When asked about cause of the fire and the losses, Amir Hossain Chowdhury said that the assessment can’t be made until the probe committee files its report.
