A fire broke out inside and outside the sal forest in the western bank area of Altadighi National Park in Dhamoirhat upazila, Naogaon. Dry creepers and leaves lying on the forest floor, along with sal and cane plants, were burned.

The fire started at about 5pm on Saturday (22 April). Fire service personnel arrived and brought it under control after about an hour.

Locals said flames and plumes of smoke were seen rising again and again over a sizeable area inside the sal forest on the western side of the dighi (large pond). They said the park's sal forest had been left unprotected because of the forest officials, and that drug users gather inside and outside the forest every day, morning and evening, out of sight of visitors. The fires are happening because the forest is unprotected, they said.

Tourists said they had flocked to see the Altadighi sal forest from the morning to spend the Eid holiday, and when they suddenly saw flames inside the forest in the afternoon, they called the fire service.

Forest beat officer Anisur Rahman said he had gone home for the Eid holiday and knew nothing about how much of the forest had been damaged.

Saiful, officer-in-charge of the Dhamoirhat fire service, said they went to the scene on hearing of the fire and brought it under control. An earlier fire broke out in the Altadighi National Park sal forest on 17 April.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.