TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
OLD GOA: Hundreds of cashew trees and many mango trees were destroyed, as an area of over 2 lakh square metres went up in smoke in a fire at Curca on Friday.
Though the exact loss caused by the fire was not ascertained, the cashew cultivators put the loss at around Rs 9 lakh.
The fire is believed to have spread to the cashew cultivations after waste in an adjoining property was set on fire by some persons.
Upon receiving information about the incident, two fire tenders from Panjim fire brigade and headquarters rushed to the site but they could not be used in the fire fighting operation as there was no way for the vehicles to enter.
However, the fireman along with the cashew cultivators created a barrier by cleaning a large tract of area so that the fire did not spread further.
Leading fire fighters Antonio Azavedo and Hubert Fernandes led the fire fighting operation.
Agassaim Police has registered a case against unknown persons and Hawaldar Roque Pereira is investigating the case.
