While the level of mercury remaining high with hot days being experienced in different areas of the State especially in the plains, the problem of forest fires has not yet been fully resolved. After the brief respite provided by a few days of rain in various parts of the State, forest fire incidents have resumed and are being reported from different parts of the State. About 1857 forest fire incidents had been reported from parts of the State as on May 16.
Regarding one such comparatively smaller forest fire on private land near the Raipur police station in Dehradun, the State Forest and Wildlife minister Dinesh Aggarwal reached the site on Monday to inspect the situation and later spoke to the media about various measures taken by the State to tackle forest fires.
Speaking to some media persons at the site, the minister said that the forest fire on Varunawat mountain in Uttarkashi division had been brought under control by the afternoon on May 15. Referring to forest fire incident reports received on Monday, he said that the incident reported from Uttarkashi had been brought under control.
Forest Department officials have been given necessary instructions to efficiently tackle forest fires. He said that the status of forest fires in Uttarakhand is being monitored consistently by Information Technology and Geoinformatics Centre (ITGC) and in case of fire incidents being reported, the relevant information is sent to the official concerned by means including SMS and WhatsApp so that effective and swift action brings the fire under control without delay. Aggarwal said that meteorological data of the present day and next seven days and maps of highly sensitive areas are being communicated to the divisional forest officers and district magistrates concerned so that available resources can be used effectively in time.
He further informed that the departmental officials had been instructed to maintain the set-up of forest fire watchers without change till the month of July and to increase the number of forest fire watchers if needed.
Aggarwal further averred that street plays, rallies, posters and talks were being held across the state in order to raise awareness among the masses regarding forest fires, its causes and detrimental effects.
He said that he had directed departmental officials to increase the number of fire lines and fire drills in forest areas apart from which the officials concerned in areas which have not received rainfall- lansdowne, Narendranagar, Tehri and parts of the Rajaji tiger reserve and Haridwar forest area- have been directed to maintain high level of alertness. The State Government is also in the process of drafting and submitting a detailed plan for forest fire control to the Central Government. According to information provided by the department, since the start of the fire season in February till date, as on May 16, total number of 1857 forest fire incidents affecting about 4047 hectare forest area were reported from across the state.