Nainital (Uttarakhand): A dangerous forest fire has broken out close to Nainital, endangering the indigenous fauna and ecosystems. Driven by dry conditions and strong winds, the fire has quickly spread over large areas of forested land including regions in and around Kumaon.
Widespread forest fires were the result of rising temperatures, especially in Lohaghat, with the Ladidhura, Chhina, and Tadag woods being on fire for the past two days. The strong winds that drove the fierce fires created a haze that was visible in the atmosphere.
As flames spread to residential zones in Devidhura and Khurpatal, the situation worsened. Despite efforts of the villagers to stop the fire from spreading, the forests were on fire on Saturday.
Manmohan Kanwal and Deepak Pandey, two locals, said that nobody from the forest department was there to assist in putting out the blazing fire.
A dry period and an increase in temperature are the main causes of an increase in forest fire in Nainital this year. January saw a protracted dry season in the state, which led to numerous forest fire events even during the winter.
Based on data from the forest department, there were approximately 106 instances of large-scale forest fires between January 1 and February 14. Certain human actions, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, in which farmers clear land by setting fire to bushes and trees sparked forest fires.
Moreover, burning trash or throwing out lighted cigarettes close to trees might have also started fires. The forests in Sarovar Nagri have been on fire for the past 24 hours, burning into ashes every bit of nature that was left green.
Not just that, regions including Baldiyakhan, Jeolikot, Mangoli, Khurpatal, Devidhura, Bhawali, Bhimtal and Mukteshwar were set ablaze, causing harm to invaluable forest wealth there.
The effects of indifference of snowfall was visible at the beginning of the summer season leading to uncontrolled forest fire since the beginning of April, that have increased the concern of the Forest Department.
As per reports, Particulate Matter in the air has increased by about five times due to these fires, worrying scientists and environmentalists. Dr S Dugtal, senior physician, BD Pandey Hospital, said that smoke emanating from forest fires can cause fatal diseases including respiratory disease, and cancer among others.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami organised a review meeting of the state's forest officials and issued an order to put them on alert due to the increasing number of forest fire incidents.
During the discussion, he stated that preventing forest fires should be a top priority and that any incidents should be handled quickly. He went on to say that forest officials will be held responsible and that negligence would not be accepted at any cost.
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