Fire guts cashew farm at Galgibaga causing Rs 50k loss

Canacona: A Galgibaga farmer suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 50,000 after a fire swept through his cashew plantation on Tuesday afternoon. The plantation belonged to Pravin Bhandari.
Firefighter Prashant Velip told TOI that Akshada Bhandari from the village noticed smoke billowing from a forested area. About 20 big cashew trees were destroyed in the fire.
After the fire services personnel reached the spot, they doused the fire which had been partly brought under control by the locals.
Some locals believe the fire may have been the result of a discarded cigarette butt.
The firefighters used nearly 4,000 litres of water to fight the blaze.
Some logs of wood which were collected at a place at Ourem near Palolem also caught fire on Tuesday evening causing a loss of Rs 5,000 to their owner Sherfiz Rodrigues.
Firefighters saved property worth 2 lakh, according to the fire office at Chapoli in Canacona.