New Delhi: Forest fires have damaged over hundreds of hectares of forest land in Uttarakhand in the last four days.
The Mint has reported that eight new forest fires took place in the last day, April 28, consuming 11.75 hectares of land. None of them were labelled ‘significant’ by Kumaon’s Chief Conservator of Forest, Prasanna Kumar Patro.
The Indian Air Force on April 27 wrote that it deployed a Mi-17 V-5 helicopter to douse the fires once they threatened to affect an Air Force Station near Nainital. A ‘Bambi Bucket’ which is capable of carrying 5,000 litres of water and dispersing it from a height, was used.
The Hindu reported that the Indian Army, on the request of the state forest department, has also deployed two columns for firefighting in Kumaon.
PTI, the news agency, had reported that on April 26, 31 incidents of forest fire had been reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land. The state’s forest department has further said that 23 new forest fires took place on April 27. And 54, on April 25.
The Uttarakhand Fire Services have posted of dousing a forest fire that has broken out near Polytechnic Patal Devi in Almora which was at risk of spreading towards inhabited area.
The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami noted that forest fires are a challenge for the state.
The Mint report mentions that since November 1, 2023, Uttarakhand has recorded 606 forest fires, resulting in the destruction of 735.815 hectares of forest land.
