More than 8,000 chickens were charred to death in a fire at two poultry farms near Ambur and Gudiyatham towns in Tirupattur and Vellore districts respectively on Sunday.
Police said the poultry farm was set up by K. Dharanirajan, 42, six years ago in his paddy field sprawling four acres in Samundi village near Ambur town in Tirupattur. The farm, which comprises three tin sheet-roofed sheds, houses at least 3,000 chickens on an average.
Fire was reported in one of the sheds when Mr. Dharanirajan saw smoke coming from the electrical board in the shed around 10 a.m. Before he could alert neighbours for help, the fire suddenly engulfed the entire shed, which is around 300 sq.ft, within a few minutes. He, however, managed to escape unhurt and alerted the fire and rescue services.
Fire fighters from Ambur town rushed to the spot and put out the fire after an hour. Fire was restricted to one poultry shed alone. Ambur Taluk police also inspected the spot. A case was registered.
In the second incident, poultry farm owner V. Ramesh, 53, set up his farm near Gudiyatham town. He was rearing around 5,000 chickens in at least six sheds, abutting his farm land. Fire broke out around 4 a.m in one of the sheds and gutted all sheds before fire fighters from Gudiyatham could reach the spot.
Initial inquiry revealed that electrical short circuit might be the reason. Various equipment and chicken feeds also got burnt in the fire. The loss in two farms has been estimated around Rs 40 lakh. A probe is underway, police said.
Published - February 09, 2025 08:04 pm IST
