Infernos during peak summer a seasonal hazard, says Virbhadra

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 2

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said though forest fires in the middle and lower belts of the state was a seasonal hazard during the summer, steps were being taken to keep them under check.

“The situation is not so severe, but during the peak summer months, fires cannot be ruled out,” said Virbhadra. He said the Forest Department was taking all possible steps to keep the fires under control and that the level of awareness among the people who helped douse the fire had also gone up. The Chief Minister said the pine needles were inflammable and with the increasing heat, there could be cases of forest fire in areas having predominance of pine forests. There were eight forest fires, two major ones in the Mundlu forest division under Anandpur panchayat falling in rural Shimla today, taking the total fires in Shimla to 44 and affecting 269 hectares.

Principal Chief Conservator, Forests, (PCCF) SP Vasudeva said so far, 512 forest fires, affecting about 4,000 hectares, had been reported. “Barring a few fires in Shimla district where the oak forests have been impacted and one chilgoza forest in Kinnaur, a majority of the fires are in pine forests and that too crown fires, causing minimal damage,” he said.

He said new fire lines had been created and the old ones had been cleared of pine needles. “As many as 700 local youths have been engaged as fire watchers. They have been reporting and helping in dousing the fires,” Virbhadra said. He said the moment the temperatures rose and humidity decreased, the guards were alerted about the possibility of a fire though the remote sensing system from Hyderabad.

Forest Minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri today directed forest officials to take immediate measures to control the forest fires. He instructed the forest conservators, divisional forest officers and other officials to swing into action as soon as the information is received.

He also directed the officials to take assistance from the locals. He said an employee should be posted in the control room round the clock.