The deceased included Gyaneshwar Bahadur who along with the unidentified woman died on Friday. Deepak Pujara, the third worker, suffered burns and died on the spot on Thursday.
Divisional forest officer of Almora, Deepak Singh, told TOI: “There were four laborers who were caught in the blaze. While three of them died, the fourth injured person — a woman — is currently in hospital. We learned they were perhaps not working in the factory, but were servants at a residence, which is located in the factory complex. An FIR has been registered in the matter and investigations are on.”
On Friday, seven separate wildfire incidents were reported across Nainital.
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Water sources drying up due to forest fires
We learned they were perhaps not working in the factory, but were servants at a residence, which is located in the factory complex. An FIR has been registered in the matter and investigations are on.”
More than 1,000 hectares of forest land has been ravaged so far in the blaze which has been continuing for the past six months but assumed alarming proportions in the past few weeks, especially in the Kumaon region. Due to the raging fires, water sources in jungles are drying up, too, as a result of which, big cats are moving towards settlements, increasing the risk of human-animal conflict.
Efforts to combat the wildfires have been met with mixed results. On Friday, seven separate incidents were reported across Nainital district, one of the worst-affected, with teams of personnel and local villagers toiling for hours to douse the flames. As per a communication by the forest department, fires were reported from Danda Range—Gauniyar, Gaula Range—Raukhad Reshambag, Manora forest area—Khurpatal, Okhaldhunga Badon forest, Ramgarh Songaon and Mukteshwar Dhanachuli in Nainital district. Meanwhile, environmentalists cautioned that unless the govt, forest department and local communities unite in a concerted effort, the problem may compound further
They also questioned the lackadaisical attitude of those responsible for not taking pro-active steps to check the menace. Shekhar Pathak, Kumaon-based author and activist, a Padma Shri recipient, attributed the crisis to several factors—prolonged dry spell exacerbated by climate change, a lack of preparedness from authorities and the high density of pinewood in the state’s forests which is over 25%. “Wildfires are as old as forests are. In earlier times, there was a system of fire prevention by creating fire-lines which was effective but it is not being followed now,” Pathak said.
(Inputs from Sonali Mishra in Nainital)
