Nainital Forest Fire: Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, met with officials from the Kumaon division on Saturday to review the state of the forest fire situation in Nainital. The CM gave the officials instructions during the meeting on how to put out the wildfire. Following a large fire in the Ladiyakata section of the Nainital Air Force Center on Friday, the meeting was held in Haldwani. Yesterday’s fire incidents, which are becoming more frequent, claimed the lives of three people. However, one person suffered severe burns.
Directive to Prioritize Fire Containment
It was instructed, nevertheless, that until the forest fire was contained, officers involved in dousing operations should not be contacted for the meeting. The review meeting was attended by district magistrate Vandana, commissioner of Kumaon Deepak Rawat, Nainital MLA Sarita Arya, and other senior police and forest department officials.
CM Dhami’s Review at Forest Training Academy
According to an official release, “Chief Minister Dhami reviewed the efforts to prevent forest fire with the officials of Kumaon Division at the Forest Training Academy Haldwani and gave strict instructions to the officers to prevent the forest fires.” Aerial reconnaissance of the fire-affected areas was done earlier by the CM as part of their assessment of the situation.
CM Dhami stated during the review meeting that while efforts were being made to contain the forest fire, all other departments should stay on high alert, with the exception of the forest department. The chief minister stated that in order to prevent forest fires, the information system should be strengthened and a rapid response team should be established.
Strict Vigilance Mandate
Concerned officers were instructed to stay vigilant at all times by the CM. It was forbidden for the forest officers to take vacation time. According to Chief Minister Dhami, the Army was helping the area fight the fire as well. He also insisted that anyone found guilty of starting a forest fire would face harsh consequences.
The Indian Army and Air Force, along with other defense forces, were called into action earlier in the day due to forest fires that occurred in Uttarakhand. The hardest-hit area continued to be Kumaon. To help with the firefighting efforts, the IAF sent out MI-17 helicopters. Boating activities in the lake were temporarily suspended as a result of these helicopters using water from the Naini and Bhimtal lakes to put out the fire.
Threat to Homes and Army Camp
The colony’s homes and an army camp, which are located about five kilometers from the Pines, were in danger of being damaged by the fire. According to State Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal, every DFO is on the ground making sure the fires are efficiently contained.
In addition, house construction and car wash operations were prohibited until the situation was under control, according to Nainital district magistrate Vandana Singh. Singh requested that urgent meetings be arranged in every gram Sabha to warn people against setting trash on fire.
Authorities say that on Friday, there were up to 31 new forest fires reported from different parts of the state, resulting in the destruction of 33.34 hectares of forest land.
