11 Apr , 2021 By : Kanchan Joshi
Fire fighting efforts are still underway to douse a massive wildfire that has been raging in a forest near the Budogi area of New Tehri district in Uttarakhand.
According to Koko Rose, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Tehri Forest Department, the fire has spread to at least one hectare of land.
"The damage caused by the fire will be assessed after the fire is under control. We are requesting people to not set fire in the forest, and if a person is caught doing that, legal action will be taken," said Rose.
He said that Forest Department is also taking the help of police to douse the fire.
Earlier, the Indian Air Force's helicopter had participated in the operations to douse the fire spread in the Koti colony forest area of the district.
"Two Mi-17 helicopters have been allotted to Garhwal and Kumaon regions. Chopper dedicated to Garhwal is collecting water from Tehri lake to douse forest fires. Two rounds completed and hoping to complete 12 more, if the weather allows," DS Meena, the Nodal Officer, Fire Fighting had said.
The helicopters participated in the operation after the central government provided a helicopter to the Uttarakhand government to extinguish the fires in the forests of the mountainous areas that broke out on Friday.
Amid the operation, water collected from Tehri lake was sprinkled with the help of a 5000-litre capacity bucket. In the first round of dousing, water was sprinkled in the forest in Adwani.
Administrative steps
Taking cognizance of increasing forest fire in the state, Uttarakhand High Court on 6 April ordered Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Rajiv Bhartari to appear before it.
Expressing its displeasure with the state government, the court said that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, people are witnessing difficulty in breathing and the smoke of the forest fire can prove to be more deadly for them.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on 4 April had called an emergency meeting over the forest fires in the state.
Union home minister Amit Shah assured all help to the Uttarakhand government to combat the fire.
As many as 414 forest fires have been reported from Uttarakhand in April so far and 645.3 hectares of forests destroyed.
Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri districts are the worst hit by forest fires.
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