Nainital forest fire: CM Dhami vows action against officers responsible

Raising concerns over the Nainital forest fire, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said that action would be taken against the officers who are responsible for the Uttarakhand forest fire.

A forest fire has been sweeping across Uttarakhand's Nainital since the past week.

Chief Minister Dhami emphasized the need for a unified effort, urging all institutions, including locals, to lend their support in combating the blaze.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "We are asking for help from all the institutions including the Indian Army. The locals are also being asked to cooperate towards dousing the fire. The responsibility of the officers found responsible in this will also be fixed."

 

The Uttarakhand Chief Minister, on Saturday conducted an aerial survey of the damage caused due to the Nainital Forest Fire and assured strict action against miscreants.

"An aerial survey of the damage caused by forest fire in Nainital area was conducted. We are continuously working to take strict action against the miscreants who set fire to forests and to control forest fire," Dhami wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Indian Air Force's MI 17 V5 helicopter was deployed on Saturday to extinguish the raging forest fires in Nainital. The helicopters pulled water from Nainital Lake to douse the flames using a 'Bambi Bucket' resulting in a temporary halt to boating activities on the lake.

Rahul Anand, Executive Officer of the Nainital Municipal Corporation, explained that safety precautions were taken to allow the IAF helicopters to collect water from Nainital Lake.

"We received information of IAF helicopters seeking permission to take water from Nainital to douse the fire. To make arrangements, we closed boating in the lake for the day. Fire is reported in Nainital in many places, including very close to the Air Force Station in the district," Anand said.

"The main purpose of bringing in helicopters to douse the fire was to keep the Air Force Station safe. The situation is under control now. Efforts are continuing," he said.