Dried up tree logs could cause fire

Visakhapatnam: In addition to the hill track surrounding the city with dried up shrubs and trees, many dumps of tree debris located at around 80 points in the city limits are prone to fire mishaps.

The recent cyclone left an ugly mark on the city environs by devastating the greenery, which later has turned out to be a threat owing to their exposure to fire disasters.

There are more than 30 hill tracks that were earlier a major attraction in the city with its lush-green ambience which have been damaged by the gale that hit the city.

There is a strong possibility of causing wildfire.

According to a rough estimate the debris would be around 30,000-35,000 tons in 75 places located in eight zones that include Anakapalle and Bheemili immediately after cyclone.
Read: Forest fire in Gudilova hills on Thursday
To avoid likely fire mishaps in the city, Chief Minister had called for cracker-free Deepavali and the people too supported the decision of the government.

The GVMC invited tenders for auction and conducted it on October 27 and got bids for around Rs 20 lakh for the entire lot. But the government cancelled the tenders, as the amount was not appropriate. Now, the stocks are still lying at the same place causing problems.

Sporadic incidents of fire accidents have been happening but the fire and disaster response teams were managing to control them. Fire personnel also doused a recent fire close to Kailasagiri. After heavy downpour and gale on the day of landfall on October 12, there has been no occurrence of rainfall in the city for the last one month and the material also has completely dried up.

A senior official from the GVMC said they had informed the state government and still have to take a decision on the issue.