Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the massive fire in Nainital and its surrounding forest areas on Saturday by conducting an aerial survey. Forest fires in Uttarakhand became more severe on Friday with the flames reaching the High Court Colony in Nainital. A forest fire has been sweeping through the dense foliage in the mountains surrounding Nainital over the last 36 hours, an official said, adding that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed its personnel and MI-17 choppers in a dousing operation in the area.
Three persons were arrested in Rudraprayag on Friday while trying to set fire to the forests. In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land.
The fire that broke out in the forest near Nainital district headquarters took a horrific form, posing a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area. It also affected the traffic movement in the area. Along with the forest department employees, army personnel are also trying to control the fire. Authorities may deploy helicopters to put it out.
In view of the possibility of the fire reaching the sensitive areas of the Indian Army located near the Pines, efforts are being made to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. The district administration has banned boating in Naini Lake in view of the blaze.
According to the daily bulletin issued by the Forest Department here, 26 incidents of forest fire occurred in the state's Kumaon region in the last 24 hours, while five incidents occurred in Garhwal region, where 33.34 hectares of forest area was affected.
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