MARGAO: Blazing continuously for over three days, the fire on the Navelim hillock has destroyed the locality’s rich biodiversity, spurring citizens to demand a panchanama of the incident, followed by an inquiry. According to reliable sources, unauthorised power-fencing on the hillock is likely to be the cause of the fire, which has affected nearly six villages around the hillock.

Presently, the fire has been controlled and is being closely monitored by fire and emergency personnel and the local panchayat.

The Biodiversity Committee of the Navelim panchayat has claimed that the biodiversity of the site has been destroyed.

The intense firefighting operation that spanned three days was a tough battle, and also involved around 25 civilian volunteers from Navelim, who dedicated their time to save the wildlife and forest area.

“The trees apart, the other biodiversity of the area which include ants, lizards, peacocks, reptiles, etc, have perished in the fire.

Since the fire broke out, monkeys have been seen entering the villages for safety,” Eleuterio Carneiro, former Chairman and present member of the Navelim panchayat’s Biodiversity Committee, told O Heraldo.

“The forest department needs to do a panchanama regarding the destruction of wildlife and identify the exact cause of the fire. The Fire Department should also do a panchanama to estimate the loss,” said Carneiro, pushing for a serious inquiry.

The panchayat has not granted any permission to install power-fencing on the hillock, said Paul Pereira, Navelim Sarpanch.