Hassan: In a tragic incident, a farmer in Bavasavalli Village in the Taluk suffered severe losses after a fire broke out due to an electric short circuit that completely destroyed two acres of crop.
Coffee, pepper and silver trees grown on two acres of land belonging to Kumar, a farmer, were gutted in the fire that broke out due to a power failure. This has resulted in huge crop losses.
As soon as the fire broke out, the owners of the land and the people in the vicinity struggled to douse the fire. But the intensity of the fire has increased due to the burning sun and crops worth lakhs of rupees have been burnt to the ground.
They immediately called the fire station in Hassan over the phone and informed them about it but it was about 30 kms from Hassan. By the time Fire Brigade Personnel reached the far-flung village, the crops had been burnt to ashes. The remaining small crop was irrigated.
About 1,600 coffee plants, 400 silver trees and 400 chilli vines were gutted in the fire that broke out in 2-acre land. This has resulted in huge crop losses.
B. S. Kumar, the farmer, said, “I want the Authorities concerned to compensate me for my losses. Since it is summer time, such fire incidents are frequent in the Taluk. So it would be very convenient if a fire engine from Hassan stays in Alur for these three to four months,” he said.
“When a fire broke out, there were a lot of accidents by the time they came from Hassan. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, a vehicle should be allowed to be parked in Alur itself,” he added.
The public has urged the concerned officials and legislators to pay attention in this regard.
The construction of the fire station at Alur was recently held and now the work is under construction and it should be completed at the earliest for the benefit of the public. MLAs have been urged to keep a close watch in this regard.
The construction work of the fire station is underway on an area of 1.10 acres of land near the court on Bikkodu Road in the Taluk.
