By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 1 Jun: The state of Uttarakhand has been battling forest fires for quite some time now. Due to the scorching heat, the fire is also showing a terrible form in many forest regions of the state. Incidents of fire are being reported daily from many parts of the state. Within the last 48 hours, incidents of fire have occurred at 19 places in Uttarakhand.
In Pauri too, several hectares of forest wealth have been reported to be burnt due to forest fires so far. At the same time, today a massive fire broke out in the forest near the CMO office in Srinagar, (Pauri) which was brought under control after a lot of effort.
Rains in parts of the state, particularly in higher reaches of the state did bring the temperature down somewhat and also brought some forest fires under control, but the fires continue to pose serious problems and damage the forests in the state.
A massive fire broke out in the forest near the CMO office here, after which the local people immediately informed the fire brigade team. The flames spread very fast. The situation became so serious that the fire reached the residential colony and the residences of government departments as well. Due to the fire, a cloud of smoke spread in the entire area, due to which people had a lot of difficulty in breathing. During this time, there was an atmosphere of panic amongst the people in the area. The fire brigade team that reached the spot controlled the fire after an hour of hard work. During this time people were seen running here and there.
According to the data released by the Forest Department, there have been 97 incidents of forest fires in Garhwal Forest Division in which 184 hectares of forest wealth has been burnt to ashes. So far 25 incidents of forest fires have occurred in Lansdowne Forest Division, in which 41 hectares of forest wealth have been burnt.
Meanwhile, the forests around Dhanaulti are also reported to be affected by fires. The fire reached near GIC Dhanaulti and the potato farm, due to which the Principal of GIC declared a holiday today. At the same time, smoke has spread in the atmosphere due to the fire, due to which people are having difficulty breathing. Local people said that the fire in the forests has reached near GIC and potato farms, due to which there is a danger of something untoward happening to them. He said that the forest department should extinguish the fire as soon as possible, so that students can continue their studies smoothly and the fear inside the people ends.
Forests are burning near Chitai in Almora. Along with this, fire has also wreaked havoc in Kent area and Takula area. Natural wealth has been destroyed by this forest fire. Due to the fire in the forests, leopards are constantly seen roaming in the area, due to which there is an atmosphere of panic amongst the people.
