Taking cognizance of increasing forest fire in the state, Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Rajiv Bhartari to appear before it on Wednesday, ie today.
A high court bench, including Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma, took the decision and said that the hearing of the matter will be heard tomorrow stating that “forest fire is a major threat for environment and human”. Expressing its displeasure with the state government, the court said that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people are witnessing difficulty in breathing and the smoke of the forest fire can prove to be more deadly for them. The PCCF has to be present in the court virtually, the court has ordered.
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Fire, which broke out at 964 locations in 62 hectares of forest area in Uttarakhand, has killed four persons and seven animals so far.
Uttarakhand is burning 🔥 for the last many weeks and where is the #RippedJeans CM? He just know today?
More than 1029 hectares of forests burnt, more than 1000 fires reported and 4 people's reported dead so far. Thousands of trees and animals are dying.pic.twitter.com/Tt9YuNYcQ2
— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) April 5, 2021
Forest Fire broke near Maldevta forest.
I request @Uttkhand_Forest @Forest_Dept_UK to look into this matter immediately to Extinguish/Control fire.@TIRATHSRAWAT @cmo_uttarakhand@Indianfireserv2#Savejungle #SaveMotherEarth #saveEarth pic.twitter.com/dWgOWhjmGF— Sandeep Chamoli (@Iamschamoli) March 31, 2021
The central government has provided helicopters to the state government to extinguish the fires of the mountainous areas that broke out on April 2. The fire dousing operation is underway. Amid the operation, the water that was collected from Tehri lake was sprinkled with the help of a 5000-litre capacity bucket.
वनों की आग से न सिर्फ़ वन सम्पदा की हानि हो रही है बल्कि जन हानि और वन्य जीवों को भी नुक़सान हो रहा है। वनाग्नि की घटनाओं की गम्भीरता को देखते हुए तत्काल प्रदेश के वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों, वन विभाग, आपदा प्रबंधन विभाग और सभी ज़िलाधिकारियों की आपातक़ालीन मीटिंग बुलायी है।
— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 4, 2021
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Sunday had called an emergency meeting over the forest fires in the state.
उत्तराखंड की वन सम्पदा सिर्फ़ राज्य ही नहीं पूरे देश की धरोहर है। हम इसे सुरक्षित और संरक्षित रखने के लिए कृत संकल्प हैं। उत्तराखंड में इस बार जाड़ों में वर्षा सामान्य से भी कम हुई है और इस कारण भी वनों में आग लगने की घटनाएँ तेजी से बढ़ रही हैं।
— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 4, 2021