villagers guarding the village

Uttarkashi. The fire in the forest in the evening of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand took a formidable form. Due to the fire, there was a situation of chaos in many villages. The villagers stayed awake throughout the night and stood on the border of the villages, so that the villages could be saved from the fire. Forests of Tons Forest Division, Upper Yamuna Forest Division and Uttarkashi Forest Division in district Utkashi are on fire since the first week of March.

Due to the fire, more than 100 hectares of forest in all the three forest divisions have been burnt to ashes. Due to lack of rain and continuous increase in heat, the fire is raging fast. State convener of Ganga Vichar Manch and BJP leader Lokendra Bisht has questioned the Uttarkashi DFO on the damage caused by the fire in the forests around the district headquarters.

He said that the forests of Badahat and Mukhem range near the district headquarters continued to burn through the night, but the forest department did not take proper steps to extinguish the fire in time. Local people have raised questions on the functioning of the Forest Department.

Forest department came into action after the formidable form of the fire
The Forest Department has swung into action after the formidable form of the fire, the employees of the Forest Department remained on the spot throughout the night. DFO of Uttarkashi Forest Division, Puneet Tomar said that till now 37 incidents of fire have happened in Uttarkashi Forest Division. The fire has been brought under control in Dunda, Badahat range, efforts are on to control the fire in the rest of the range.

As the heat rises in the district, the fire has also started getting worse. The forest department is talking about deploying staff on fire, but the forest department does not even have any concrete plan to stop the incidents of fire.