Forest fire in Coonoor for third consecutive day 

Forest department battles massive forest fire in Nilgiris caused by private estate, arrests made, wildlife at risk.

The forest department, for the third consecutive day, is fighting a massive forest fire that spread from a private estate into a reserve forest in Forest Dale in Coonoor Forest Range in the Nilgiris Forest Division.

The fire was caused after the managers of a private tea estate had tried to clear weeds from their land by starting a fire. Officials also arrested four persons including the manager as well as three other workers for starting the fire.

The four men were identified as Karuppiah, Mohan, Jeyakumar and Ebenezar Jeyaseela Pandian, the manager of the estate. Forest department officials said the fire was proving difficult to extinguish due to lack of access for fire trucks and firefighting equipment to the heavily forested area.

The forest is home to a variety of wildlife, including Indian gaur, leopards and a variety of birds. However, as the forest patch was populated by exotic introduced species of flora, biodiversity in the area was comparatively less, officials said, who have concerns that the fire could spread to native Shola forest patches.

When contacted, District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division), S. Gowtham said a total of 30 forest personnel have been deployed to the area to attempt to fight the fire. Officials also added that they have sought assistance from the Indian Air Force to deploy helicopters fitted with helitankers to help extinguish the fire.