DEHRADUN: Helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) initiated firefighting operations in Uttarakhand on Monday, April 5, over the burning forests in Garhwal region. According to the data of the state forest department, over the last 24 hours, a total of 85 forest fire incidents have occurred in the state.
DS Meena, Divisional Forest Officer, Narendra Nagar, said that an IAF helicopter carried around 5,000 litres of water from Tehri lake and sprayed on the flaming forests of Gaja, Pokhri and Quili.
Three operations were conducted: first was to observe the affected areas in the Tehri district and two more followed with 10,000 litres of water to pour over the affected areas of Narendra Nagar division, Meena added. The officials said that the operation was later halted in the afternoon as the weather was not conducive.
Other operations were conducted by IAF on Tuesday, April 6, to tackle the forest fires of Thauldhar block of the district. The boating activities in the region were suspended during the day to give uninterrupted access to the IAF helicopters. According to data, 85 fresh forest fires have been recorded in the state in the last 24 hours in which around 165 hectares of forests have been destroyed. Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri are the worst affected districts and a total of 12,000 forest officials have been deployed to speed up the mitigation process.