DEHRADUN: Forest fires in parts of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district have caused considerable damage to forest wealth and natural vegetation, government sources said, adding the fire is raging in forests near Kaligarh, Amtar Hatwalgaon in the Hajeti forest range of Thal.
Reports said smoke has enveloped nearby villages and people have started facing trouble in while breathing. The fire that broke out late on Wednesday evening in the forests of Surani in Ganai Gangolli has engulfed 83.90 hectares of forest area.
State’s Chief Conservator of Forests (Forest Fire Control) Nishant Verma told this paper that most forest fires are recorded during March and April when the ground contains large amounts of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, dry grass and weeds. “Extreme heat and dryness under natural conditions, friction due to rubbing of the branches together are also considered a big cause of fires,” said Nishant Verma.
“Two hectares of forest panchayat land in the area are on fire. Area panchayat member Rajendra Upadhyay and social worker Girish Upadhyay is trying to put out the fire by employing labourers,” said a villager. According to information received from the district headquarters, the forest of Bamandhun was engulfed in a huge blaze. Ranger PS Deupa, forest guard Jyoti Upadhyay, Manoj Jyala, and Prakash Joshi reached the spot and brought the fire under control around 2 am, sources said.
State forest sources said that more than 731 incidents of forest fires have taken place in Uttarakhand in the last six months. April-May is the season when forest fires occur in different parts of the country, but the number of forest fires in Uttarakhand has been higher and has occurred even during winters.
Uttarakhand has 4 lakh hectares of forest land, of which 16.36% is covered by pine forests. The hill state saw the worst forest fires in 2016. These fires were caused by a heatwave that spread across Uttarakhand and were the worst recorded in the region with a reported 4,538 hectares (11,210 acres) of forest burnt down and seven people dead.
Officials detected nearly 1,600 total fires which were brought under control by May 2 that year, and as rain fell the following day, it reduced the impact of the wildfires. An initial report noted that 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) had been destroyed by the fire. Uttarakhand and Himachal see the most forest fires in India every year.
