Officials conduct rescue operation after massive forest fire breaks out in northern India
by Komal KashyapFire officials come to the rescue after a colossal forest fire breaks out in northern India’s Uttarakhand.
The fire took a severe turn in forest areas of Nainital district, on April 26.
Videos from the location of the fire show huge areas gutted under the blaze. In the last 24 hours, the fire took a horrific turn posing a threat to the residents of Nainital’s High Court Colony, located in the pines area. The district administration has banned boating in Naini Lake. The adversities of the fire have prompted the administration to seek help from the Army. Helicopters have been deployed to aid with the dousing of the blaze. The clippings show the helicopter fetching water from the Bhimtal Lake and pouring it on the forest fire.
According to reports, a fire near the district headquarters of Nainital posed a threat to the residents of High Court Colony in the Pines area and disrupted traffic flow. An unnamed resident informed PTI that the fire had consumed an old, vacant house near The Pines but had not caused any damage to High Court Colony, although it approached dangerously close to the buildings. Efforts to contain the fire have been ongoing since evening. There are concerns about the fire spreading to sensitive army locations near the Pines area.
The Nainital district administration has imposed a ban on boating in Naini Lake due to the forest fire. To combat the blaze, the Nainital administration has deployed 42 personnel, including 40 from the Manora Range and two forest rangers, as confirmed by Nainital Divisional Forest Officer Chandrashekhar Joshi.
The forest department of Uttarakhand reported 26 incidents of forest fires in the Kumaon region and five in the Garhwal region within a span of 24 hours, affecting a total of 33.34 hectares of forest area. Since November 1 of the previous year, the state has witnessed 575 incidents of forest fires, resulting in damage to 689.89 hectares of forest area and incurring a cost of more than ₹14 lakh.
Three individuals were arrested by Uttarakhand authorities for allegedly igniting forest fires in Jakholi and Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag’s Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu stated in a press release that the arrests were made by a team tasked with preventing forest fires.
One of the arrested individuals, Naresh Bhatt from Tadiyaal village in Jakholi, was apprehended while setting fire in the forest allegedly to facilitate new grass growth for his sheep. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed the administration to remain vigilant and take preventive measures against forest fires.