A 65-year-old woman succumbed to burn injuries in Rishikesh on Sunday, becoming the fifth victim of the forest fires that have ravaged at least 1,196 ha of land in Uttarakhand since November last year.
While the wildfire season this year has been the deadliest in the state since 2021 when eight people died in the wildfire season, it is yet to reach the 2021 level for the affected area. In 2021, 3,943 ha of forest land was affected, which was the highest since 2017. In 2016, the state lost over 4,400 ha to forest fires. The deadliest was in 2003 when 4983 ha of forest land was affected.
Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!
The deceased woman was identified as Savitri Devi of Thapli village in Pauri tehsil of Pauri Garhwal district, who died on Sunday. Devi was the first victim of the fires in Garhwal region this year. The four other deaths were reported from Kumaon.
She sustained injuries while trying to douse the fire that was nearing her farm, Deepesh Kala, Pauri Garhwal district disaster management officer, said.
“On May 4, at around 1.30pm, Savitri Devi was trying to douse the forest fire that reached near her farm. She was trapped in the fire as she slipped. She suffered extensive burn injuries. She was first taken to Pauri district hospital through an ambulance. The woman was eventually referred to AIIMS Rishikesh. In the early hours of Sunday, we received a call from the hospital that she died during the treatment,” Kala said.
Experts have attributed the spike in forest fires to rising temperatures, and an exceptionally dry winter and spring. For the rest, forest officials blamed burning of agricultural waste and anti-social elements.
On Monday, of the 157 large fires recorded in the country, 125 were in the hill state, data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI) showed. In the last one week, Uttarakhand recorded the highest number of forest fires, followed by Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
According to the daily bulletin issued by the Uttarakhand forest department at 4 pm, 20 fire incidents were reported in the last 24 hours, affecting 52.07 ha of the forest land.
“Most of the forest fires in the state are man-made. We have been taking strict action against miscreants who have been setting fire to the forests,” said Nishant Verma, additional principal chief conservator of forests.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have registered 383 cases in various districts. In these cases, 315 people are unidentified and 60 are named. Our efforts to identify those unnamed in these cases are underway,” Verma said.
Since November last year, 930 incidents of forest fires have been reported in the state in which over 1,196 hectares of forest land have been damaged.
Of the total land damaged, 433.255 hectares were damaged in the Garhwal region and 674.6825 hectares in the Kumaon region, both of which are under the grip of fires again, apart from the 88.48 hectares in the administrative wildlife regions.
Between May 1 and 6, there were 123 fire points in Rudraprayag forest division and 234 in Badrinath forest division, the FSI data showed.
The state can expect some respite from Tuesday onwards, when the India Meteorological Department has forecast rains.
Bikram Singh, director of the Meteorological Center in Dehradun, said there is a possibility of rain in Uttarakhand between Tuesday and Wednesday, and rain activity is likely to intensify from May 11 onwards.
“The downpour is forecast to start in the Kumaon region from May 7 and in the Garhwal region from May 8. This may help in extinguishing the forest fires,” he said.
But, gusty wind at the rate of 30-40 kmph at some places may contribute to spreading the fires to new areas if rainfall is not heavy, the IMD said.
The wildfires that intensified after mid-April as temperatures rose and there was no rain, have gripped 1,145 hectares of forests in 910 major forest fires since November 1, 2023, according to FSI data.
The forest department on Monday appointed 10 nodal officers for 13 districts with regard to forest fires.
The expansion and the number of forest fires in Uttarakhand this summer (since mid-April) has been unusual according to residents. They are also being recorded in upper reaches of the state.
“We can say that the entire Ganga basin is impacted. Conditions were very dry due to lack of rainfall in winter. There was no oversight and now the fire has spread to large areas including upper reaches. Chamoli, R Pauri, Pithoragarh all are affected. The biggest concern for us now is that the soot or black carbon from the fire will settle on glaciers and cause other extreme weather and disasters,” said Hemant Dhyani, environmentalist and member of Ganga Ahvaan.
Meanwhile, in Pauri Garhwal district, a Mi-17 chopper of the Indian Air Force was pressed into service to douse the forest fires. The chopper collected water from the Alaknanda River in Srinagar using a Bambi bucket and sprayed it over the burning forests in Srikot Dobh village.
Discover the pivotal moments that shaped India’s electoral journey on the Eras section of our exclusive Elections product. Access all content absolutely free on the HT App. Download now!
Get Current Updates on India News, Elections 2024, Election 2024 Date along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
News / Indian News / 65-yr-old dies, U’khand forest fire toll touches five
