Fires erupted in Nainital district and surrounding areas. Forest department busy dousing them. CM Dhami talks to Chief Secy Radha Raturi to control erupting fires in the state

Several jungles in Garhwal and Kumaon region of Uttarakhand are in the grip of widespread fires and the forest department has completely failed either to control , douze it or sense it on time before allowing it to become widespread. Its only during summers that these fires are erupted on wide scale and after thousands of hectares of jungles are damaged leading to massive destruction of flora and fauna these fires are extinguished either through rains or by God’s grace. The fire alerts through satellites have also not been addressed and the forest are increasing day by day with three labourers immolated while trying to douze the fire. On Saturday the Air Services to border areas of Kumaon division of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh and Munshiari towns remained suspended for the second day in Friday and Saturdays may be in Sunday too. This was done so due to the poor visibility around the Nainital Saini Airport cause by massive smoke emanating from the burning jungles. Meanwhile in Nainital and the surrounding areas the massive fire is not receding but becoming more fierce full. There have been extensive damage in the jungle fires at Nainital districts’ Dhari- Matiyal, Padampuri, Khurpataal and Devidhara . The fire that erupted from the jungles of Koso range at Betalghat on Friday afternoon spread rapidly at Bargal forests . There are reports that some mischievous elements have started the fire in the forests of Khurpataal on Neetal Kaladiongi Road. Though the fire came under control after immense efforts by the forest department officials and guards etc due to vertical rocks but they have to work extremely hard extinguishing it. However, when the fire reached near the human habitats the forest department had to call the team from another range. The massive fire had put the lives of the carnivores and other animals living inside the jungles in immense disarray with the animals either being roasted inside or running helter and shelter for refuge in human habitats. The Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami though late but finally talked to the chief secretary Radha Raturi and instructed her to immediately hold concerned officers accountable for not controlling the massively erupting fires in Uttarakhand leading to immeasurable and infinite demage to forests and properties including human lives. The CM held the videoconferencing with the chief secretary and officers of all ge concerned departments including forest and wildlife and fire department to fund ways and means to control these massively spreading fires in various parts of Uttarakhand bringing bad name to the government . So far about 350 cases have been registered in the various forest fires of Uttarakhand out of which 60 cases have been registered naming the culprits. The chief minister has stringently issued directives to go to the jungles where fires have erupted and get it extinguished at all costs.