Forest fire destroys thousands of hectare land in Uttarakhand; CM Rawat shows red eyes to officers

Dehradun, May 24: At least 295 new forest fires were reported from different parts of Uttarakhand over the last one day, prompting Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to reprimand the officials concerned for their "lack of preparedness".

295 fresh incidents of forest fires were reported over the past 24 hours. The number of incidents which stood at 741 yesterday has mounted to 1,036 today, the official said, adding efforts are underway on a war footing to control and extinguish the fires.

 

Meanwhile, Rawat held a meeting with all the District Magistrates and forest department officers such as the DFOs and the nodal officer via video conferencing to review the situation and expressed his displeasure over their lack of preparedness to combat forest fires which occur every year.

Forest department officials are finding it hard to control the flames, especially in pine forests. Officials say as the dry spell continues, it will act as a catalyst to these forest fires.

In 2016, forest fires in Uttarakhand had destroyed 4,433.75 hectares of forest area and claimed at least six lives.