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Over the last week, a fire that originated in Uttarakhand’s forested areas and spread to Nanda, Nainital, and several other regions has led to damage in over 140 hectares of forest land in the state.
On Sunday, 28 April, Uttarakhand reported more than 42 large forest fires. This was preceded by at least 23 incidents of forest fires on Saturday, 31 incidents on Friday, and 54 incidents on Thursday – all of them gutting hectares of forest land.
Forest fires in major places like Nainital also spread to other regions like Almora, Pithoragarh, among other districts, causing damage to more than 30 acres of forests.
Over 40 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were tasked with dousing the flames in Nainital on Sunday.
This is, however, not the first report of its kind coming from Uttarakhand this year.
According to the Forest Survey of India, since 21 April, at least 202 forest fires have been reported in Uttarakhand.
Since November, at least 606 incidents have been recorded, in which 242.3 hectares were destroyed in Garhwal region, 429.4 hectares in Kumaon, and over 64 hectares in administrative wildlife regions.
‘Man-Made Fires’: What Officials Have Said So Far
On Sunday, the state forest department said that the forest fires in the region were mostly “man-made.” While high temperatures, dry forests, and incidents of lightning could also be contributing factors, a major reason identified by authorities has been man-made fires, like cigarette ashes, garbage flames, and electrical sparkings.
Garhwal district forest officer Anirudh Swapnil told news agency PTI on Sunday,
“The fire has been happening because of mischievous elements. We are making people aware and appealing to them not to ignite anything. I have asked people to inform the department whenever they find anyone igniting fire in forests. Action will be taken against people igniting fire in forest areas under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.”
So far, close to 200 cases have been filed with the police against people for causing the fires.
After conducting a review meeting in Haldwani on Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told the media,
“We have taken forest fire as a challenge. I have instructed officials concerned to take all possible steps to control the incidents of forest fires. “I have instructed DM and other officials to work with active fire stations and take help from the local community.”
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What Measures Are Being Taken?
Uttarakhand’s Principal Secretary Ramesh Kumar Sudhanshu has said that forest department officials cannot take leaves in the forest fire season (15 February- 15 June) and would be held accountable to ensure there’s no negligence that leads to forest fires.
Other than this, the state authorities have also,
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Deployed teams in areas that are highly sensitive or prone to forest fires.
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been holding awareness programs to get support from the locals, who are being taught not to burn their garbage.
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locals have also instructed that there is a ban on construction and “car washing.”
In several areas, the fires have either been brought under control or completely destroyed.
The state authorities have also deployed an Indian Air Force Mi-17 V5 helicopter to conduct the ‘bambi bucket operation’. The helicopter can hold close to 3,500 liters of water and has been releasing water on the fires.
Who are all involved in the firefighting operations? Apart from the state authorities and state forest department, the Uttarakhand government has also sought help from:
to help bring the fires under control.
(With inputs from Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and The Hindu)
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