A helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) arrived in the Koti Colony area of Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand to participate in firefighting operations in nearby forests on April 5.
The chopper collected water from Tehri lake in a 5000-litre capacity bucket and sprinkled it in the forest in Adwani, reported news agency ANI.
At least four people and seven animals were charred to death in the fire. Speaking to ANI, Principal Chief Conservator (fire) asserted that the fire has destroyed property worth Rs 37 lakhs so far.
There are 40 active fire spots in the forests of Garhwal and Kumaon regions with Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri districts being the worst-hit, forest officials said.
To control the forest fires in Uttarakhand flared up over the past day, the Centre rushed two helicopters to the state on April 4.
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the current forest fire situation in the state following which two helicopters were rushed in to provide help.
"I have spoken to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat to get an update on forest fires in the state. Instructions have been issued to send helicopters and National Disaster Response Force teams to the state to minimise loss of lives and property due to the wildfires," Shah said in a tweet in Hindi on April 4.
Here are the key developments on Uttarakhand’s forest fire:
> Uttarakhand CM Rawat called an emergency meeting of senior officials of the forest and disaster management departments and all district magistrates to assess the situation and discuss ways to effectively control it.
> A total of 12,000 forest department personnel have been deployed and 1300 fire stations have also been set up to stop forest fires, said the chief minister.
> Among the two helicopters that arrived in the state, one will be stationed in Gauchar, which will collect water from Shrinagar and the other will be stationed in Haldwani, which will collect water from the Bhimtal lake to extinguish the forest fires, he informed.
> Forest department officials have been asked not to take any leave and keep a close watch on the situation.
> Bushes around residential areas are being cleared so that the forest fires do not spread there.
Since January 2021, there have been 983 incidents of forest fire in the state affecting 1,292 hectares of land, said the forest officials.
A major reason for rising forest fire incidents in the state is the paucity of rain during winter season. Rainfall during winter was less than normal this year, said CM Tirath.
(With inputs from PTI)