Khordha, April 25 -- A fire that broke out in Chilika Lake in Odisha's Khordha district was finally doused after hours of sustained effort by wildlife and fire service teams on Saturday, officials said.

The blaze had spread through dry Phragmites patches, locally known as Nala grass, before being brought under control after coordinated firefighting operations involving teams from Khordha and Puri districts.

Wildlife officials suspect that miscreants may have set fire to dry grass in the ecologically sensitive lake area, though the exact cause is still under investigation.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Chilika Wildlife Division, Amlan Nayak, said such fire incidents are not uncommon in the region due to dry vegetation and human inter...