BENGALURU: Tungesh DM, 37, a forest watcher, who suffered a 40 per cent burn while trying to douse a forest fire in Sakleshpur on February 16, had to walk almost 4km, till he could get help. Another forest watcher, Sunderesh, who was in the team, succumbed to his burn injuries.
“Once I recover, I will rejoin my duties. I have been working on controlling forest fires for years. This is the first time, I was trapped,” Tungesh said, who was discharged on February 26.
Tungesh told TNIE that they were a team of six on foot patrolling in the Sakleshpur range when they saw smoke billowing from the forest in the Marenahalli section.
The team comprised Manjunath, the deputy range forest officer, Sundaresh, a guard and four watchers- Tungesh DM, Mahesh, Diwakar and Somashekhar.
“We were on foot patrolling in Sakleshpur range. We walked around 10- 12 km in the burnt area, trying to assess the situation. When we noticed smoke, we rushed towards the spot and saw swathes of forest ablaze. We started to run uphill since the intensity of the fire was lesser on the patch. But strong winds intensified the flame, and we were trapped,” he said.
Diwakar and Somashekhar found a spot to jump out from. However, the other four not that lucky. “Within a few minutes, I saw the flames engulfing over 30-40 acres. We suffered burns on our hands, chest, face, hair and legs. Once the flames subsided, we jumped and started to walk out of the area. I called up a local estate manager and the department officials,” he said.