Weigh ‘artificial rain’ option to fight forest fires, HC tells Uttarakhand

NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand HC on Wednesday directed the state government to explore the possibility of using artificial rainfall through cloud seeding to douse the forest fires raging in most of the hill districts of the state.
It also ordered the government to deliberate if the state disaster response force can be given helicopters and other modern equipment to tackle the wildfires, saying it would be easier to douse them from the air, reports Prashant Jha.
The directions came from the bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma while hearing a PIL regarding the blazes. Though the PIL was initiated suo motu in 2018, it had been lying dormant since October that year. On Monday, an advocate brought the issue to the fore.
Rajiv Bhartari, head of forest force, said over 65% of the posts of forest guards and 82% posts of assistant chief conservator of forests are lying vacant in Uttarakhand. He cited lack of staff and funds as major reasons behind the non-implementation of the action plan to control the forest fires in the state.
The court directed the state government to ensure that funds are provided to the concerned department so that these vacancies are filled, preferably in the next six months.