Gajwel forest fire: No breakthrough yet

Sangareddy: Thursday’s wildfire at a forest area near Gajwel is still an unsolved mystery. The wildfire happened close to Minajpet and Veluru. It happened at multiple places and the culprits are still at large. Though trees survived the fire and are still intact, the grass which lies between the trees was burnt and nobody was caught in the fire. But it sure affected the health of trees because of the heat they were subjected to bear.

Locals say the fire could have been the handiwork of shepherds, as their herds would need new grass which would sprout during rainy season. But they also know that the rainy season is still far ahead. There are speculations that it was the work of the real estate mafia, considering the affected range’s close proximity with Rajiv Rahadari and the outer ring road.

The area is close to factories and lies close to Mulugu forest range. Interestingly, it also falls under the Chief Minister’s home constituency Gajwel, where infrastructure is expected to develop in the next five years. There is a patch of land belonging to a farmer which has a boundary with a couple of acres of forest land which were also burnt.

There is also a dargah right beside the affected area, where an old man has been living as a caretaker. He said that he had gone to a wedding for two days and by the time he returned, this had happened. When contacted, Venkatesh, the sarpanch of one of the closer villages said that there was no information about the incident with him.

One thing which could be learned from the locals’ reaction was that somebody must have done it and it was also not the first time this kind of an incident has happened. Since the burnt area is lying on both sides of the road, it also raises doubts as to how the fire was started and how multiple areas were burnt at different locations.

There are also some speculations that someone must have burnt a matchstick. Others say people who go there to play cards and to drink must have done it. Whatever might be the mystery behind the forest fire, it is certainly affecting the ever-decreasing forest cover in Telangana.

By:Vivek Bhoomi