The weather department has predicted rain for Tuesday in Uttarakhand, which has been battling forest fire that has gutted over 2200 hectares of forest land. This comes as a major relief for the state where the Centre has deployed NDRF and IAF for rescue operations.
While the NDRF has claimed that 70% of the affected area has been brought under control, the authorities have said that only 11 fires remain in the state, adding that small fires remain the cause of concern.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Centre is keeping a close watch on the situation, assuring that the fire would be brought under control in the next three to four days.
“I immediately sent DG forests. He is there and is leading the operations. The amount required has been released. PMO, NDRF and IAF are working together, I am sure the fire will be brought under control in coming 3-4 days," he said.
There was no end to the politics either over the forest fire, with Congress rebel and former CM Vijay Bahuguna blaming the ousted government of having no contingency plan to contain such forest fires. He also blamed late deployment of forces for the tragedy.
Meanwhile, there were reports that the fire has spread to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh with outbreaks spotted in rural Shimla. A sporadic fire erupted in a forest of Cheed trees near IIT Nahan on Sunday. The entire area surrounding the forest was engulfed in smoke and fire tenders had a hard time making their way inside the forest due to the terrain. The fire is supposed to have caused heavy losses to the forest.
Forest officials suspect the unprecedented fire could be a man-made disaster. Several people have been arrested so far.
The fire, which started in the first week of February, has killed seven people and destroyed 2,269 hectares of forested land.
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