Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today asked the Forest Department to send a proposal to the Centre, seeking creation of a large number of water reservoirs in forest areas to maintain adequate levels of moisture in the soil.
Citing lack of moisture in soil as one of the major factors behind forest fire, the chief minister issued directives to this effect while reviewing efforts of the department to minimise incidents of forest blazes which destroyed thousands of hectares of forest land in the state this season.
Rawat said, a proposal for digging thousands of water reservoirs in forest areas of Uttarakhand should be prepared and sent to the Centre for clearance at the earliest.
