About 20 acres of grassland was gutted following a fire inside the forest at Kotebetta in Moovathoklu and Garvale Gram Panchayat jurisdiction.
There were shrubs and grassland on 1,200 acres of land. If the fire continues, then flora and fauna inside the forest will be affected.
“The forest department officials have been trying to douse the fire since Thursday. The intensity of the fire reduces in the night,” said Madapura Deputy RFO Jagadish.
The fire that was spreading towards the village has been doused.
A large number of people visit Kotebetta. The fire might have been caused due to the carelessness of the visitors. The fire had damaged the grass last year as well.
In a meeting recently, villagers had appealed to authorities to introduce police beat in the Kotebetta area. However, no police have been deployed so far, said Kotebetta Ishwara Temple committee president Doddera Sudi Belliappa.