Dehradun: With fires devastating around 1,900 hectares of forest cover in Uttarakhand, the Centre on Sunday pressed two Mi-17 helicopters into service to assist the officials of NDRF, SDRF and Army personnel fighting to contain the flames.
In the morning two MI-17 helicopters were set to multiple trips to spray gallons of water in affected areas to douse the fires. Nearly 1,500 villages in Kumaon and Garhwal division are under threat and need to be controlled at the earliest, sources said.
"One MI-17 chopper was sent to Pauri and another stationed at Bhimtal near Nainital are being loaded with water collected from water bodies in the area. Soon, the helicopters will be pressed in to service to spray water over affected areas," Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh said.
Director General (Forests) and Special Secretary in Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, SS Negi said, "Some people suspected to be involved in the fire incident were arrested in Pauri and other districts. They were handed over to the local police."
He said, "Pre-fire alert will be given till June 30 in 16 states. I held a meeting with DG of forest survey of India and given pre-fire alert to Uttarakhand for assistance. Within one to two days, the situation will be under control."
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation with Chief Secretary of the state and the concerned officers in MHA in the morning.
He instructed his officials to monitor the situation and provide all assistance in controlling.
The government is also seeking help from foreign experts to deal with the crisis. The director of Delhi's Fire Department is scheduled to visit the spot to assist a joint operation to control the fires that have blazing out of control over the last three months.
The forest fires started on February 2 and the exact cause is yet to be known. Six people have been killed in the fires which also charred rare birds, species, herbal trees and medicinal plants.
The worst affected areas where MI-17 helicopters will primarily spray water are Rudraprayag, Nainital, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Pauri, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Almora. As per latest report fire is spreading to Jaunsar in Dehradun district and NDRF teams are having a tough time in bringing the blaze under control.
Two IAF choppers have also been sent to Nainital and Pauri districts, among the worst hit, to spray water over the burning forests, Raj Bhawan officials had said.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is rushing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) re-fullers to replenish IAF choppers deployed to douse the massive fire in Uttarakhand.
"Spoke to Governor Uttarakhand; IOC rushing ATF re-fuellers to reach Haldwani and Srinagar by morning for firefighting by Air Force helicopters," he tweeted
Enough funds have been made available to all affected districts besides required personnel and equipment to deal with any situation, they said.
Since the beginning of forest fire season in the state in February, 922 incidents have occurred so far in which seven were injured and 1890.79 hectares of green cover being affected, said Principal Conservator of Forest B P Gupta.
Concerned over the forest fires which are still raging, Governor KK Paul reviewed the rescue efforts underway via videoconferencing with officials in the field and asked them to speed up their efforts.
NDRF companies assisted by expert teams and locals are conducting fire extinguishing and rescue operations in affected areas of Garhwal and Kumaon regions.
IG Sanjay Gunjyal is coordinating with the NDRF, the district magistrates concerned and Principal Conservator ofForestto supervise the rescue operations.
Locals are being encouraged to report a fire incident to the district magistrate concerned as soon as they sight it so that it can be controlled in time.
The governor has doubled the number of personnel deployed to control the fires from 3000 to 6000 and asked all agencies including the SDRF, district administration and the rural population to contribute their bit in the exercise saying the forest department alone cannot accomplish the onerous task, Gupta said.
Forest fires are natural during summer but this time they have occurred on a bigger scale as the fire season which normally begins by February 15 and ends by June 15, began on February 2.
Former chief minister Harish Rawat has asked the governor to declare Uttarakhand as a fire disaster struck state and involve locals as much as possible in fire extinguishing efforts.
The scale of fires this time has been bigger due to little or no rain during winter at most places.
(With inputs from PTI)
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