Come winter, Goa Fire Service have to battle wild grass fires.

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Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service
& circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network
(GOA CAN)<goadesc-0VrrOzQoB60xpvK4C0GaPQ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Ph:2252660
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Come winter, fire service have battle in their hands.
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Come winter and the personnel of the fire services will be kept busy
on their toes to battle fires of a different kind  to extinguish fire to 
dry grass.
Like in the previous years, the district fire services are bracing up
for yet another winter to fight the fires to the grass.

As a matter of fact, the fire brigade personnel has so far attended
as many as five calls of this type, apart from the routine calls.
Two such calls were attended on Saturday alone, one at Davorlim
and the other at Maruti Mandir at Pedda here.

"Fires to grass is an annual phenomenon", admitted Shetye,
a fire officer attached to the District fire station.
According to him, such type of fires will be on the increase now
with winter setting in. In fact, he pointed out that the fire services
attend around 100 such fire calls every year, mostly in the months
of four months of November, December, January and February.

Statistics further revealed that majority of these incidents
had occurred in Davorlim near a factory, the Naqueri-Betul pleateau
near the ONGC premises and on the Verna pleateau.

"It's difficult to clearly point out whether the fires are caused by
natural factors or man-made", Shetye said.He, however, hastened to add
that many a time, people unmindful of the consequences
just put fire to the wild grass, which then spreads over to adjoining areas.

The fire officer pointed out that Davorlim village alone accounted for
around 30 such fire incidents in the recent past.
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HERALD  24/11/02 page No.
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Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy
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What's On In Goa (WOIG): 
Nov 06 Children's book exhibn opens, Walkabout, Anjuna... (all weekdays)
Nov 06 ArtHouse, Calangute: Chaitali's acrylics on canvas till 19.11
Nov 07 Revision of electoral rolls (till Nov 30) See schedule.
Dec 01 Two day conference, Goa Agenda. IT For Society. (Ends 2.12) 
Every Sunday: Music therapy sessions at Moira, 5 pm. 278, N.Portugal

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