Uttarakhand Battles Raging Forest Fires, Leading to Fifth Death in Three Days
Uttarakhand has been grappling with relentless forest fires, resulting in the tragic death of a 65-year-old woman. The victim, Savitri Devi, succumbed to burn injuries sustained while attempting to extinguish a blaze near her farm in Pauri tehsil. This marks the fifth fatality attributed to wildfires in the past three days.
In response to this escalating crisis, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has called for a statewide ban on fodder burning and solid waste incineration in forests and surrounding areas for a week. District Magistrates have been tasked with strictly enforcing this ban.
Flight operations at Pithoragarh’s Naini-Saini airport have been suspended due to limited visibility caused by smoke and haze. Residents in areas surrounding Rishikesh are experiencing health problems, particularly children and the elderly. Authorities have advised residents to wear masks when venturing outdoors.
The Meteorological Center in Dehradun predicts rainfall in the state from May 7-8, which may help extinguish the fires. The rain is expected to start in the Kumaon region on May 7 and in the Garhwal region on May 8.
In a separate incident, four individuals have been booked under the Indian Forest Act for lighting a fire in the Gangolihat forest range of Pithoragarh district. The forest department has reported 24 forest fire occurrences in the state over the last 24 hours, damaging 23.75 hectares of forest area.
Since November 1 last year, there have been 910 incidents of forest fire in Uttarakhand, affecting approximately 1145 hectares of forest land.
