Uttarakhand forest fires destroyed over 1,000 hectares of land

Uttarakhand has been gruelling with raging forest fires since past few days with over fires 900 incidents fires have been reported in Garhwal and Kumaon regions over the past six months.

These forest fires have been affecting a total of 1,196 hectares of forest land across the state, claimed five lives in the past three days.

As per official, over 1,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the state in 910 fire incidents since November last year. Of the total incidents, 491 occurred in Kumaon and 365 in the Garhwal region, so far.

On Monday fires broke out in 20 places from Garhwal to Kumaon, burning over 52 hectares of forest area, in which Garhwal had the most incidents, with 10, while Kumaon had nine incidents.

Air Force helicopters were deployed to extinguish fires in various parts of the in Pauri Garhwal. As a result, the forest fire was contained to a larger extent.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Meteorological Center in Dehradun, Bikram Singh, meanwhile, said there is a possibility of rain in Uttarakhand from May 7 to May 8, which will intensify from May 11 onwards. This may aid in extinguishing the forest fires, he added.

Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said that the Gangster Act will now be applied to those who repeatedly set fire to the forests. Additionally, those who set fire will also be held accountable for the damage caused to forest property.

On the other hand, 4000 fire watchers have been deployed statewide, aided by other organizations, with nodal officers in every district. The fires have also caused a massive revenue loss worth more than Rs 25 lakh to the Uttarakhand Forest Department.

The blaze has now become a threat to residential areas as well. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked Chief Secretary Radha Raturi to give all the district magistrates a week’s notice and issue instructions to regularly monitor the forest fires.