Palanpur, March 28, 2011
A huge fire today gutted a wildlife sanctuary in the reserve forest at Nadabet, near the border district of Banaskantha in Gujarat.
The fire engulfed a major part of the sanctuary, spread over 2541 hectares, this morning, Range Forest Officer R F Tharad said. The fire was raging even after 10 hours of fire fighting efforts.
The sanctuary is the abode of chinkaras, blackbuck, wild boar, and jackals, Mr Tharad said.
The entire region being close to international border is a restricted area and the Nadabet region where the fire broke out is about 15 km away from human population. The last villages are Jaloya and Suigam, 15 and 30 km away, respectively, from the Nanabet.
Even the Nadeshwari Temple, located in the restricted area, is being looked after by Border SecurityForce (BSF) Jawans, Mr Tharad said.
As such there is no chance of fire being set by any local, he said. A BSF official said the fire was probably caused by an electrical short circuit. Strong winds helped the fire to spread quickly in the dry shrubs in the grassland, he added.
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