PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Nainital
A forest worker is said to have died while battling a forest fire in Nainital’s Birla Chungi forest area. The deceased was identified as Anand Lal (56), a resident of Birla area. The divisional forest officer Akash Gangwar said that Lal, a daily wage forest worker, was in the forest with other workers as part of a checking team. He denied that he had died while putting out wildfire. “There was no fire in the forest area,” he asserted.
Lal was rushed to BD Pandey District Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Meanwhile, a former councillor, Deepak Kumar Bholu alleged that workers are being sent to extinguish wildfire without the necessary safety equipment, leading to such incidents. The people who gathered demanded adequate compensation for the deceased’s family and strict action against the responsible officials. The forest range officer Lalit Karki stated that an investigation has been initiated and further action would be taken on receipt of the report. Quizzed over safety measures, DFO Gangwar stated that the workers are being provided with all fire safety equipment and group insurance are in place as per standards.
