Berhampur: A massive fire broke out inside Chilika, Asia’s largest brackish water lake, under Tangi range on Thursday night.Though the exact cause of the fire was not known, wildlife officials suspected the mishap was man-made. “Some miscreants might have set afire the Nala grass inside the lagoon, which has dried in summer. We will investigate the matter to identify the offender and arrest the miscreants,” said Amlan Nayak, divisional forest officer (DFO), Chilika.The blaze, which broke out in the patches of Nala grass inside the lagoon — home to several residential and migratory birds and fishing cats — spread rapidly because of high-speed wind. Forest personnel from different ranges of Chilika Wildlife Division rushed to the spot to defuse the blaze. They, however, faced difficulty going near the fire in mud as the water level in the lake fell drastically due to the scorching sun.Despite the difficulties, the forest personnel doused the fire, spraying water from the lagoon through pipes, said Amlan Nayak, divisional forest officer (DFO), Chilika.The boatmen generally set afire the Nala grasses for smooth sail of their boats, said a forest officer. “Earlier, we conducted an awareness campaign among the people of the area not to set fire the Nala grass in summer,” said Chitrasen Jena, Tangi wildlife range officer.The residential birds generally nest in the bushes of the Nala grasses.The DFO said fishing cats, elusive animals, as well as the birds would have moved to other places after seeing the fire.
