Hundreds of hectares of forest destroyed in fire in Tirumala, India

Tirupati, Apr 19 (PTI) Hundreds of hectares of forest was destroyed when a major fire broke out in the dense forests of nearby Tirumala Hills today, sources at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams said.

They told PTI that vehicular traffic was stopped on the first ghat (down route) road for over an hour as the fire was noticed spreading downhill and moving fast towards the road close to Lord Hanuman statue on the hills this afternoon.

By the time fire tenders reached the spot, the fire destroyed one km length of forest close to the road, they said. Meanwhile, forest personnel made a vain bid to restrict the fire even two hours after dusk fell, the sources said. A thick blanket of smoke was visible in Puttur 35 km from here, according to several devotees who reached the hills from Chennai via Puttur. Source