Banyan tree catches fires

What began as a ritual went terribly wrong when a decades-old banyan tree near Eloor caught fire, triggering panic.

The thick smoke emanating from the tree, located on the roadside near Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IRE) in Municipal Ward 6 of Eloor, was detected at 9 a.m. soon after a few persons reportedly performed a ‘pooja’ under it. On an alert, fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot. Firemen realised that the inside portion of the big tree was continuing to smoulder and could not be doused completely.

“The fire was brought under control in an hour but it continued to burn. The way out is to cut the tree, which otherwise may soon get uprooted, endangering the lives of motorists and pedestrians,” they said. The Fire Department has written to the municipality to cut down the tree after receiving approval from the Social Forestry Department. According to officials, the wood will continue to smoulder for a couple of weeks more, and they are keeping a watch on it.