VALPOI: A fire broke out in the cashew orchards belonging to locals Madhukar Desai and Ghanshyam Desai from Advai, Bhironda, destroying 400 trees on Tuesday afternoon. While the loss is estimated to be around Rs two lakh; the accurate figure will be ascertained after the panchanama is conducted.
The fire incident took place at around 3 pm and locals rushed to the site to control the blaze, to no success. The Valpoi fire station was informed, and fire personnel doused the fire after a tedious three-hour-long operation. Although the fire had been doused, fire officials remained at the spot to keep an eye out, due to the copious amounts of dry grass and wood in the area.
Even as numerous fires have been reported in cashew plantations this summer, fire personnel have warned farmers to be more alert and monitor their precious orchards closely. “My grafted cashew trees were four years old and had started to produce fruit since last year. We were expecting a good yield this year, but all the trees have turned to ashes. I request the government to take notice of the situation and compensate us accordingly,” said farmer Ghanshyam Desai.
“The economic impact on both the orchard owners is huge,” said local Sarpanch Udaysingh Rane.
