Sunday, 28 APRIL 2024 | PNS | NAINITAL
Even as parts of the State witnessed light rain along with thunderstorms and hail, forest fires continued to rage in Nainital district on Saturday. The authorities roped in a helicopter of the Indian Air Force to lift water from the Bhimtal lake and use it to douse fires in the forests in the area. Locals said that the forest fires also reached close to inhabited areas, causing panic among the residents.
Forest fires are raging in various parts of Kumaon and Garhwal regions these days. The usual preparations of the Forest department have not been successful in either preventing or controlling the forest fires so far. The jungles in Bhimtal, Okhalkanda, Dhari, Ramgarh, Ladiyakata, Sattal, Farsoli, Malla Tirchakhet, Bhawali and other areas in the Nainital district were reported to be on fire on Saturday. Along with personnel of the Forest department and the army, the IAF has also been deployed to tackle the wildfires. The IAF chopper has been taking water from Bhimtal since Friday evening to douse the forest fires though the effort couldn’t be continued for long on Friday due to darkness. The effort was resumed on Saturday morning.
It is pertinent to mention here that forest fires have been raging in various parts of the State for some time now. The fires in the jungles of the Nainital reportedly escalated in about a dozen places on Friday night. The Fire Service and Forest department personnel somehow managed to bring the fires under control to some extent.
