U'khand guv allocates additional staff to control forest fires

With soaring temperatures causing forest fires in diffferent parts of Uttarakhand, Governor K K Paul today ordered deployment of additional staff and allocation of more funds to control blazes.
He also appealed to people of the state, especially those living in the hills, to lend a helping hand to forest personnel in reining in the fires.
Vast stretches of forest land have been destroyed in hundreds of forest fire incidents in Uttarakhand, which have so far claimed three lives.
Additional funds should be allocated and more staff posted to ensure that forest fires are controlled as soon as possible, Paul said at a meeting at the secretariat here to review steps being taken to control forest fires.

Describing the loss of forest wealth and wildlife in these fires as alarming, he said all possible efforts must be made to control them.
People would have to be made aware of the perils of burning garbage near forests, throwing burning cigarette stubs into them, and burning trees for clearing land which usually lead to the fires, he said.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Harish Rawat asked the Governor to declare the state as fire disaster stricken.
He asked the Governor to take steps like constitution of disaster management and fire extinguishing teams, allocation of different forest beats to them, involving the local population in the exercise by offering them insurance coverage and making them eligible for compensation in case of an accident.

Noting that Uttarakhand's forests will not be able to overcome ill-effects of the fires if they continue unabated like this, Rawat said even water bodies are being polluted due to the fires which will endanger the wildlife dependent on them.
Pradesh Congress President Kishore Upadhyay wrote to party workers, asking them unite to save the state's precious forest wealth.