By Our Staff Reporter
Haldwani, 9 May: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a review meeting of the Forest, Drinking Water, Road and Electricity Departments at the Forest Training Academy, here, today. During the meeting, he instructed senior officials to remain in the field for effective control of forest fire incidents and to maintain the morale of the personnel. The Chief Minister directed that the fire lines of the British era, which are still in existence, should be restored so that the forests can be saved to a great extent from forest fires.
The Chief Minister also directed the Forest Department personnel to maintain better coordination with the villagers. I have observed that with better coordination, villagers can play the role of allies in times of any kind of disaster. This will help to a great extent in reducing the impact of disasters and the villagers will also feel connected to their forests.
Dhami observed that although the Forest Department is making sincere efforts to deal with the incidents of forest fire in time, he feels that there is a need for it to prepare an exhaustive plan for the state so that the number of fires occurring every year can be minimized. In this regard, he placed emphasis on studying the existing models developed in the country as well as abroad and said that efforts should be made to include these in the plan of the state with modifications as per the requirements. The CM said that the Forest Department should also focus on strengthening its structure from the lower level and implementing the works in a better way.
I have instructed the road construction agencies to pay special attention to quality. He asked the PWD and related departments to ensure planting of saplings according to the ecology of the area along the crash barriers being installed for road safety. Instructions were given to ensure smooth supply of drinking water so that the common people do not face drinking water problems during the summer season. He said that in case the drinking water line is disrupted due to any reason, alternate arrangements for supply of water should be made by deputing additional tankers. The Chief Minister directed the Electricity Department to take necessary action to promote solar panels in government offices.
Chief Forest Conservator PK Patra informed the Chief Minister that all fire watchers have been instructed to collect firewood. So that it can be used in future as per requirement. In the meeting, District Magistrate Vandana Singh said that this year fewer incidents of forest fire have occurred in the district compared to the past incidents of forest fire from February 2019 to May 2024.
In the meeting, MLA, Lalkuan, Dr Mohan Bisht, DIG Dr Yogendra Rawat, SSP PN Meena, District President Pratap Bisht, Mandi Parishad President Anil Kapoor, DFO TR Bijulal, Superintending Engineer, Jal Sansthan, Vishal Saxena, NDRF as well as PWD , Electricity Department officials were present.
