Forest fire kills 13-year-old girl in Tumakuru

TUMAKURU: A 13-year-old girl was killed in a forest fire at Devarayanadurga forest in Tumakuru on Tuesday. According to police, the deceased is S Manasa, a native of Irakasandra Colony near Devarayanadurga hillock. She was a class 9 student.
She and her relatives were going to a fair at Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple on Tuesday. The group was walking through the forest stretch when Manasa was caught in the fire. A woman, Shivamma, tried in vain to rescue her. She and another woman sustained minor burn injuries in the incident. Manasa sustained 90% burns, was taken Tumakuru Government Hospital where she died later.
Her mother runs an eatery at Irakasandra Colony, while her father passed away a while ago. Forest officials say they have been dousing fires caused by people who set dry grass on fire. Cattle grazers set dried grass in the forest and nearby areas on fire intentionally in the hope of getting fresh grass for their cattle after one or two rains.
Around 2-3 hectares of Devarayanadurga forest has been gutted in fire. Most forest fires are man-made. Some are caused by people throwing beedi and cigarette butts indiscriminately, officials said.