5 dead in Uttarakhand wildfires, over 1,000 hectares of forest destroyed
5 dead in Uttarakhand wildfires, over 1,000 hectares of forest destroyed
As many as five people have died so far in the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand. The latest death toll includes a 65-year-old woman who died on Sunday at AIIMS Rishikesh, where she was admitted after sustaining burn injuries while trying to douse a forest fire that had reached her farm in a village, officials said.
The woman, named Savitri Devi, noticed a forest fire reaching her farm in Thalpi village on Saturday (May 4). She had gone there to collect grass bundles but got caught in the blaze, the District Disaster Management Center. She was referred to AIIMS Rishikesh, where she succumbed to her injuries in the early hours of Sunday.
Forest department officials said that a case has been registered against four people - Piyush Singh, Ayush Singh, Rahul Singh and Ankit – under the Indian Forest Act for setting fire in Gangolihat forest range of Pithoragarh district, PTI reported.
The Director of the Meteorological Center in Dehradun, Bikram Singh, meanwhile, said there is a possibility of rain in Uttarakhand from May 7 to May 8, which will intensify from May 11 onwards. This may aid in extinguishing the forest fires, he added.
The downpour is forecast to start in the Kumaon region from May 7 and in the Garhwal region from May 8, Singh said.
The wildfires, ongoing for months, continue to swallow the green cover of the Himalayan hill state. Since November 1, 2023, a total of 1,145 hectares of forests have reportedly been destroyed in 910 forest fire incidents.
The fires have also caused a massive revenue loss worth more than Rs 25 lakh to the Uttarakhand Forest Department.
The blaze has now become a threat to residential areas as well.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked Chief Secretary Radha Raturi to give all the district magistrates a week’s notice and issue instructions to regularly monitor the forest fires.
He has also asked all the district magistrates to give directions to completely ban burning all types of fodder for a week with immediate effect. Furthermore, urban bodies have been asked to ban the burning of solid waste in or near forests.
Dhami held a review meeting with officials on Saturday and asked them to establish coordination among themselves and create a mechanism by which the forest fires could be controlled as soon as possible.
The Chief Minister has also appealed to Uttarakhand residents for their cooperation. “Forest wealth is our heritage which we have to protect at all costs,” PTI quoted him.
The daily bulletin issued by the Uttarakhand Forest Department said on Sunday that in the last 24 hours, as many as 24 forest fire incidents were reported in the hill state. These affected 23.75 hectares of forest.
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