Man arrested for starting fire in reserve forest in Hosur

Krishnagiri: A 50-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for accidentally starting a fire in the Noganur reserve forest in Hosur forest division here on Friday.
K Karthikeyani, wildlife warden, Hosur forest division, said, “Trees and herbal plants on nearly 15 acres were completely gutted in the incident. Wild boars and birds were also found charred to death.” It took forest officials a few hours to put out the fire.
During inquiry, officials came to know that P Muniraj, of Alahalli village, had on Friday taken his cattle for grazing into the area, where the fire had broken out. “He accidentally started the forest fire when he threw his beedi into the forest without putting it out,” the officer said. She warned villagers against carrying flammable items like matchboxes, cigarettes, and beedis into the forest. She said the violators would face legal action. “Violators will be punished with imprisonment between six months and three years.”
She said the Hosur forest division had 85 forest beats spread over 7,000 acres and 120 reserve forests across seven forest ranges. Only one forest guard and one watcher are deputed to take care of a forest beat, due to lack of manpower. She pointed out that this makes it difficult to preserve the forests and wildlife and appealed the villagers to extend their support in conserving forests and animals.