A major fire broke out at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad on Monday. However, no animals were injured as the flames spread in an open area.
Officials of the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department (TSDRFS) responded to an emergency call and rushed to the zoo, before battling the fire for close to two hours.
“The fire caused damage to about two acres of land in the zoo. Once we got information about it, we rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire. But, the strong winds caused it to spread along open land and hence it took us almost two hours to put out the fire completely,” Srinivas Reddy, District Fire Officer for Hyderabad, told ToI.
“The affected area had large swathes of dry grass due to which the impact was very high. The flames were extinguished by creating gaps so that the fire could be prevented from spreading,” he added.
While some reports suggest that a carelessly thrown cigarette butt could have led to the incident, others state that the staff at the zoo allegedly set leaf waste on fire after cleaning the premises.
The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.
Fire mishap at #Hyderabad zoo reportedly due to short circuit. Several trees were damaged. @MumbaiMirror @BangaloreMirror pic.twitter.com/ULhSHN10Ts
— P Pavan (@pavanmirror) April 30, 2018
This comes even as authorities at the zoo are bracing up for the harsh summer ahead.
While some animals annually get a cooler allotted to them, authorities also ensure that a special diet is being supplied to the animals, to tackle the heat.
To ensure that they remain hydrated, water, glucose water, coconut water, muskmelon, watermelons, citrus fruits, special electrolytes and other liquids are to be given to animals which require it.
Earlier this week, Hyderabad recorded the highest maximum temperature of the year at 42 degree Celsius.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that there would no respite as maximum temperatures likely to be around 41 to 44 degree Celsius in parts of Telangana for the next two days.