In an effort to contain the rapidly growing forest fires in Nainital, Uttarakhand, the Indian Air Force used Mi-17 V5 helicopters to conduct Bambi Bucket Ops on Saturday. In an effort to stabilize the situation, the state administration is working with the IAF, according to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
“To reduce forest fires, our government often collaborates with the @IAF_MCC government on a campaign. In the regions hit by the forest fire, water is being sprayed from helicopters, the CM stated in a post on X.
With a forest fire building up in vicinity of an Air Force Station near Nainital, #IAF activated its aerial fire fighting capability, employing a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for undertaking Bambi Bucket Ops. pic.twitter.com/2wLbTjW5m8
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) April 27, 2024We have a threat from the forest fires. This fire is rather large. We are striving to provide every basic demand. We have requested assistance from the Army. As quickly as we can, we’ll work to contain the fire,” CM Dhami declared.
वनाग्नि पर काबू पाने के लिए हमारी सरकार @IAF_MCC के साथ लगातार अभियान चला रही है। वनाग्नि प्रभावित क्षेत्रों में हेलीकॉप्टर से पानी का छिड़काव किया जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/GGEKePyuSR
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (Modi Ka Parivar) (@pushkardhami) April 27, 2024On Saturday, the chief minister also flew over the damage wrought by the forest fires in Nainital. He has instructed authorities to stay vigilant and work with all departments to take all necessary precautions to put out the flames.
Dhami stated, “An aircraft assessment was done to assess the damage caused by the forest fire in the Nainital area. We are always striving to suppress forest fires and to take strong action against the miscreants who do so.
On Friday, the Uttarakhand forest fires became worse, spreading to the High Court Colony in Nainital.
Notably, the fire that started in the forest next to the district headquarters took on a horrific form that put the residents of the HC colony in the Pines region in grave danger.
VIDEO | A massive fire broke out in a forest area near the High Court Colony in Nainital, Uttarakhand on Friday.
In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land.
(Full video available… pic.twitter.com/5V8ULcike8
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 27, 2024Furthermore, boating in Naini Lake was prohibited by the local government due to the flames. The fire has been put out by 40 Manora Range staff and two forest rangers, according to Chandrashekhar Joshi, the divisional forest officer for Nainital.
Using water from the Bhimtal lake for its Bambi Bucket Ops, the Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 chopper put out the fire as the Forest Department requested assistance from the armed services.
We got reports that IAF helicopters were requesting authorization to use Nainital water to put out the fire, according to Rahul Anand, executive officer of the Nainital Municipal Corporation, who spoke to news agency ANI. We ended boating on the lake for the day in order to make plans. Numerous locations in Nainital have reported fires, including the area just next to the district’s Air Force Station.
Anand continued, “The Air Force Station’s safety was the primary reason for using helicopters to put out the fire.”
Thirty-one fresh forest fire occurrences were recorded from different sections of the Himalayan state in the previous twenty-four hours alone, resulting in the destruction of 33.34 hectares of forest land. Of them, five happened in the Garhwal area while 26 were recorded from the state’s Kumaon region.
In the meantime, Rudraprayag on Friday saw the arrest of three people who were attempting to set fire to the forests. They were apprehended for reportedly setting fire to two different locations: Rudraprayag and Jakholi.
Herder of sheep While starting a fire in the forest, Naresh Bhatt of Tadiyaal village, Jakholi, was apprehended at the scene, according to Abhimanyu, the Divisional Forest Officer of Rudraprayag.
Bhatt had said during questioning that he had ignited the fire to provide fresh grass for his livestock to graze.
575 frame accidents in a 5-month area
A total of 575 forest fire events that have affected 689.89 hectares of forest land have been registered in Uttarakhand from November 1, 2023. The state must have spent around Rs 14 lakh on these instances.
Nainital had the highest number of forest fire events this year between February and April, according to the district-by-district analysis of forest fire frequency. Pithoragarh, Champawat, Almora, Pauri, and the previous year’s count are next, with a difference of around five times over.
The fires in the Pines, Bhumiadhar, Jyolikot, Narayan Nagar, Bhawali, Ramgarh, and Mukteshwar regions were put out by the helicopter, according to forest officials. The water was gathered in a Bambi bucket from the lakes Naini and Bhimtal.
Five thousand liters of water may be stored in the bucket at one time.
Due to the low water level, boating was temporarily banned in Naini Lake; however, according to an official, it has been discontinued in Bhimtal Lake for the time being.
According to SDM Pramod Kumar, the forest fire has spread from Pines to Ladiyakanta.
According to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, every attempt is being made to contain the fires. Together with representatives of the Kumaon division at the Forest Training Academy in Haldwani, Mr. Dhami conducted an airborne reconnaissance of the impacted regions and evaluated the efforts undertaken thus far to put out the flames.
He gave stern orders, saying that only major illnesses would be excused from the requirement that forest officials not be permitted to take leave until the forest fires were entirely contained.
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