Massive fire rages in forests near Nainital for over 36 hours, military called in
Nainital, Uttarakhand: Massive fire has been raging in the forests near Nainital region of Uttarakhand for the past 36 hours. The Indian Air Force and Army have been called in as the fire seems to be getting out of control.
The fire turned serious on Friday with the flames reaching the High Court Colony in Nainital. In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33 hectares of forest land, news agency PTI reported.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the fires would soon be brought under control. “The Army is also being asked for help in this regard and the fire is being extinguished through Air Force helicopters. Today, I will also hold a meeting with the officials in Haldwani regarding the issue of forest fires,” the CM said.
The fire that broke out in the forest near Nainital district headquarters spread to the residential High Court Colony located in the Pines area, also affecting traffic movement there.
Massive forest fire has been ragging in Nainital for over 36 hours now, over 33 hectares of forest gutted, military called in #Nainital #NainitalFire #NainitalFORESTFIRE pic.twitter.com/fg3EseDN5P
— PuneNow (@itspunenow) April 27, 2024
The district administration has also banned boating in the Naini Lake in view of the blaze.
Nainital Divisional Forest Officer Chandrashekhar Joshi said, “We have deployed 40 Manora Range personnel and two forest rangers to extinguish the fire.” According to the daily bulletin issued by the Forest Department, 26 incidents of forest fire occurred in the state’s Kumaon region in the last 24 hours, while five incidents occurred in Garhwal region, where 33.34 hectares of forest area was affected.
From November 1 last year to date, 575 incidents of forest fires have been reported in the state, affecting 689.89 hectares of forest area and costing the state than Rs 14 lakh.
Meanwhile, three men were arrested and sent to jail for allegedly starting forest fires in two different areas of Jakholi and Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag’s Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu, in a press release, said that the action was taken by a team formed to prevent forest fires.
