- विज्ञापन -
Dehradun, April 28: With the increase in heat, incidents of forest fires in Uttarakhand have started increasing. In the last 24 hours, more than 30 hectares of forest have been burnt across the state. Whereas from February 15 till now, 136 hectares of forest have been affected by fire.
Till 27 April, 112 incidents of fire have been reported across the state. Out of these, 62 incidents of fire have occurred in the Garhwal division, 43 in the Kumaon division and 7 in wildlife areas.
This year, the number of fire incidents has reduced so far
However, it is a matter of relief that very few incidents of fire have been reported as compared to previous years. In 2023, till April 27, 285 incidents of forest fire were reported, due to which 349 hectares of forest was affected. Whereas in 2024, 696 incidents of fire occurred, due to which 882 hectares of forest was burnt.
In 2024, incidents of forest fires had caused havoc. But this year, it is a matter of relief that till now only 112 incidents of forest fire have been reported.
The forest fire season begins in Uttarakhand from February 15. The forest department had made strict arrangements to deal with fire this year. On the other hand, the weather also supported the forest department, due to which fewer incidents of fire have been reported across the state. But after April 25, with the increase in heat, the fire has started taking a terrible form. In the last 24 hours, incidents of fire have been reported at 12 places.
7500 employees of the department are engaged in the field
Additional Chief Forest Conservator, Forest Fire Control and Disaster Management, Nishant Verma, said that 4700 fire watchers of the forest department are deployed on duty. While 2800 forest guards have also been put on duty. Apart from this, help of local people is also being taken. He said that incidents of fire are being monitored through satellite. Everyone has been put on alert mode.
He said that this year there is some relief because the forest department had already made the local people aware of this. A large scale awareness campaign was run. Due to which the incidents of fire have reduced significantly this year as compared to last year. Despite this, the forest department is completely alert.
