A day after a massive fire raged across 20 hectares (nearly four kilometres) of grassland on the hills near MHADA and Nagari Nivara Colony in Dindoshi, Goregaon east, environmentalists, fear that the ash and soot will spread to the adjoining societies in the two kilometre radius thereby making it difficult to breathe. Locals are also complaining about the smell of burnt grass, which is forcing them to keep their windows shut.
"Thankfully there was not much breeze on Tuesday and since the fire brigade had used some water, the dust and soot were settled. But, by Wednesday breathing will be difficult," said a local social activist, Sandip Sawant.
The forest department on Tuesday claimed that the fire was restricted to private land alone. It said that no damage was caused to the forest area of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) or Aarey Colony.
The fire on Monday was extinguished by 11.15 pm following joint efforts of the forest department and the fire brigade. Both the authorities said that the fire was restricted to dried grass and bushes on the ground.
"Despite it being a private land, we reached with a staff of 40 people on the ground, who, along with fire officials, helped contain the blaze as we did not want it to spread to SGNP or Aarey area. Since our staff is expert in handling cases of wildfire even on such difficult terrains they could efficiently and quickly manage the fire," said Anwar Ahmed, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF).
As per authorities, the land belongs to F Dinshaw Trust and is under Raheja Builders, who have an IT park nearby. Several local politicians visited the site on Monday and Tuesday and demanded an investigation.
"The residents have told me that this fire was set on purpose. If it is true, this is a serious matter and needs to be investigated properly. I have asked the fire brigade officials as well as the local ward office to conduct an inquiry into this fire," said local MLA, Sunil Prabhu from Shiv Sena.
