Hyderabad, May 14 (IANS): A major fire that broke out on the University of Hyderabad campus Wednesday night led to the death of several wild animals, students and wildlife activists said.
Students and the university security staff battled for two hours to douse the flames, which started simultaneously at three places, killing the wild animals in an area of 8-10 acres.
The fire, second in 15 days, left the students puzzled about its cause and they demanded that the university authorities immediately procure fire-fighting equipment and deploy additional security guards to keep an eye on trespassers.
A university official said the fire broke out at 9:30 p.m. near the boundary towards Nallagandla side. "About 20 security guards and 15-20 students reached and put out the fire by 11:15 p.m. with the help of portable fire extinguishers. A fire engine also was called from Gachibowli which helped in completely putting out the fire," a university spokesman said.
When the place was inspected on May 14 morning, it was found that some people were trying to cook inside the university as stones to balance the utensils and ash were found at the site. It is suspected that some trespassers from the Nallagandla side would have come inside the university to cook food, he said.
The university authorities said they were trying to procure additional fire-fighting equipment to tackle such situations.
Students say the central university witnesses 6-7 fires every year, but the second incident in two weeks has raised concerns about the safety of the wildlife.
"Last week, the first had burnt dry grass on 6-8 acres, but this time it was a huge fire. It started from three points," B. Rohit Kumar, a research scholar, told IANS.
He said he along with other students and activists saved two pythons. Many wild animals are believed to have perished in the fire.
He said they were puzzled by two fire incidents in 15 days. They suspect it could have been lit by cattle herders who enter from outside and burn the old dry grass so that new grass grows in its place.
They said poachers could also be behind the fire incidents. Sometimes the students also lit a campfire, but the recent incidents are not related to them.
A huge fire in February this year had burnt dry grass across 150 acres towards Gopichand Badminton Academy side.
The university campus spread over 2,500-3,000 acres is home to several rare species of bird and wild animals like spotted deer, wild boar, monitor lizard and Asian palm civet.
Rohit said they were worried about the safety of the animals. The students had been demanding the university authorities to procure the latest fire-fighting equipment so that the fire breaking out in a deep forest area on the campus can be controlled.