Haldwani (Uttarakhand) [India], April 27 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a review meeting to discuss the forest fire situation with the Kumaon Division officials on Saturday and issued directives to combat the wildfire in the region.

According to an official release, “Chief Minister Dhami reviewed the efforts to prevent forest fire with the officials of Kumaon Division at the Forest Training Academy Haldwani and gave strict instructions to the officers to prevent the forest fires.”As per the Chief Minister’s instructions, concerned officers were directed to remain alert at all times and the forest officers were restricted from going on leaves.

Additionally, instructions were also provided not to call the officers engaged in the forest fire efforts to visit Dehradun for the meeting until the forest fire is contained.

CM Dhami said that other departments besides the forest department should also remain on alert mode while efforts are underway to prevent the forest fires.

The Chief Minister also said that the information system should be strengthened to prevent incidents of forest fires and a quick response team should be minimized.

Adding ahead, he said that people’s cooperation should be taken at the local level for effective prevention of forest fires.

CM Dhami said that the army is also assisting the region in combatting the wildfire situation and mentioned strict instructions will be issued against those who are found guilty of setting fire in the forests.

Earlier, the Chief Minister took stock of the situation by conducting an aerial survey of the areas affected by forest fire. He said that incidents of forest fire are being controlled with the joint efforts of the administration and concerned officials.

MLA Sarita Arya, Commissioner Kumaon Deepak Rawat, District Magistrate Vandana along with senior officials of the Forest and Police Department and other public representatives were present in the meeting.

In the last 24 hours, numerous incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of Uttarakhand, destroying hectares of forest land.

The Indian Army was pressed into service as forest fires continued to rage in Uttarakhand, with the Kumaon region being the worst hit.CM Dhami said on Saturday that the Indian Army and Air Force helicopters are assisting in controlling forest fires in the state that have reached Nainital after raging for over 36 hours and burning several hectares of green cover.

The Chief Minister said that the fire poses a substantial challenge and that all necessary resources are being mobilized to address the situation.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed MI-17 helicopters to assist in the firefighting efforts. These helicopters are pulling water from Nainital Lake to douse the flames, resulting in a temporary halt to boating activities on the lake.

The blaze already consumed several hectares of the forested terrain, with the leaping flames yet to be brought under complete control.

Uttarakhand starts experiencing forest fires in mid-February when the trees shed dry leaves and the soil loses moisture due to a rise in temperature, and this continues till mid-June. (ANI)