The worsening forest fire in environmentally sensitive Uttarakhand has increased both the concern and challenge of the government. Following the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the government has also become active in dealing with the disaster like forest fire. The Forest Department is not only taking immediate steps to save the forest, now work is also going on on long-term plans. In this series, Uttarakhand will also adopt better initiatives of other states to protect forests from fire. For this, the government has asked the Forest Department to thoroughly study the initiatives of other states of the country, so that steps can be taken here also. The incidents of forest fires are also increasing at the same speed with which the mercury is rising in the state.
477 incidents have taken place from January to April
So far this year, 477 incidents of forest fire have taken place in the state, in which more than 570 hectares of forest area has been burnt. During the same period last year, 357 hectares of forest was burnt in 278 incidents of forest fire. It is clear from the data that this time the incidents of fire are increasing. When the temperature increases further in the coming days, the possibility of further increase cannot be ruled out. Keeping all this in mind, the government has also focused on forest fire prevention.
CM Dhami had given instructions to the officials
After the completion of voting for the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Dhami had given instructions to review the situation in the state and take effective steps to protect the forests from fire. The department is working in this direction, but the fire incidents are not stopping. There is also concern that the forests which usually burn in summer are now burning in any season. This is a big challenge. In view of this, the Chief Minister had recently given instructions that along with taking immediate steps for fire control, the initiatives of other states should also be studied.
Make strategy by studying from other states
In this context, Principal Secretary Forest RK Sudhanshu has asked the Forest Department to study other states from this point of view. According to Principal Secretary Sudhanshu, what strategy has been adopted to protect forests from fire in different states of the country, which initiative has been better, where has the community been involved in it, what is the discharge of responsibilities from Ranger to DFO level. , It has been asked to study all such points.
Based on this, a long-term strategy will be prepared and implemented on the ground to control forest fires in the state. Not only this, instructions have been given to the department that as soon as information about forest fire is received anywhere, immediate action should be taken to control it. Negligence will not be tolerated in this.
This time is challenging from the point of view of forest fire: Dhami
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is keeping an eye on the incidents of forest fire in the state. He is continuously taking information about this from the department. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister on Tuesday directed the Chief Secretary to take appropriate steps to protect the forests from fire. He said that the present time is very challenging from the point of view of forest fires. In such a situation, it is necessary to immediately make proper arrangements to save the forest. He also directed to take immediate action as soon as information about fire is received, to take timely steps to prevent fire incidents through better coordination between departmental officers, and to take cooperation of local residents, public representatives and Panchayat representatives in fire control.
Chief Secretary Raturi reviewed
Following the instructions of the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi reviewed the efforts being made to prevent forest fires in a virtual meeting held with DMs, SSPs and DFOs of all the districts on Tuesday. On this occasion, this information was given to the Chief Secretary through a presentation. The Chief Secretary directed that there should be no let up at any level in the efforts to save forests from fire. Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar, Principal Secretary Forest RK Sudhanshu, Secretary Disaster Management Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha were also present in the meeting.
