A fire has erupted in the Kalamteji Forest Patrol Station area of the Sundarbans East Forest Division.
On Saturday morning (March 22), locals noticed smoke rising from the Teparbil area of the forest. The Forest Department confirmed the fire by noon and began efforts to control it.
According to locals, after receiving the news, forest workers rushed to the site. However, due to the significant distance from the fire to the nearest canal, they are struggling to access water to extinguish the flames. To prevent the fire from spreading across the large forest area, forest guards have started creating fire lines around it.
In response, four Fire Service units have been dispatched to the location. The Station Officer of the Shoronkhola Fire Service and Civil Defense, Abtad E Alam, mentioned that units from the Shoronkhola and Morrelganj fire stations have arrived, while additional teams from Rampal and Kachuya are on their way.
Bipuleshwar Das, the Forester of the Dhansagar Station in the Chandpai Range of the Sundarbans East Forest Division, stated that there are no nearby water sources, and the fire is burning deep in the forest, around two to two and a half kilometres from the canal. If the tide rises, water pumps will be brought via waterways to fight the fire.
Kazi Mohammad Nurul Karim, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Forest Division, informed the media that he is heading to the scene and will provide further details about the fire’s spread and current situation once he arrives.
This follows a similar incident on May 4 of the previous year when a fire in the Amarbunia area of the Chandpai Range burned around four acres of forest land.
