DEHRADUN: With temperatures soaring in the last few days, incidents of forest fire in Uttarakhand have increased. Over 171 cases of forest fire have been reported in the last six days. While 34 fire incidents have been reported in Garhwal, 41 are in Kumaon and three in protected wildlife areas in the last 24 hours.
A forest fire has damaged 98 hectares of forest area. So far, 647 forest fire incidents have been reported since November 1, 2022. A total of 769 hectares of forest area has been damaged. As many as 78 incidents of forest fire were reported in the last 24 hours, the highest number of incidents recorded in a single day in this forest area.
Uttarakhand Forest Department’s Chief Conservator of Forest (Fire) Nishant Verma told this newspaper, “Awareness campaigns are being conducted in rural areas to prevent forest fires, Divisional Forest officers has been instructed to maintain vigilance in the area and make villagers aware that in case of fire, inform the department at their level and the department as an immediate measure”.
Expressing concern over the increasing incidents of forest fires in the state, Rakesh Kumar Maikhuri, head of the Department of Environment of Garhwal University, said, “These days forests are seen burning everywhere on the way to Pauri, Almora and Nainital etc. While the increasing incidents of forest fires are harming nature, drying up of water sources is also causing a water crisis.”
He advocated immediate and drastic steps to prevent forest fires. Maikhuri further said, “Uttarakhand has an abundance of pine forests and their area is constantly increasing. In summer, pine leaves, locally known as ‘Pirul’, have been the main cause of forest fires. According to an estimate, hundreds of hectares of forest area are burnt every year due to ‘Pirul’.