Act in unison to fight fires, Chamba DC asks officials

Chamba, June 10

Chamba Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal stressed on taking concerted efforts to combat forest fires and directed the departments concerned to take preventive measures to tackle the menace.

The DC was presiding over a meeting today to discuss effective measures for the prevention of forest fires.

During the meeting, Repaswal emphasised the need for coordinated actions by relevant departments to protect forest wealth from fires. He instructed the preparation of MG-NREGA shelf-reports by June 20, to facilitate the construction of water storage ponds, tanks, check dams and kuhls through the convergence of MG-NREGA and various departmental schemes.

The Deputy Commissioner also highlighted the importance of utilising natural water sources to prevent fire incidents. He directed officials from the Jal Shakti Department to restore long-defunct irrigation channels in the district. Additionally, he instructed officials from the Rural Development, Agriculture and Horticulture Departments to share lists of water storage ponds, tanks, check dams, and channels prepared for irrigation with the Forest Department.

Chief Conservator of Forests Abhilash Damodaran shared crucial information on effective fire-fighting measures and identified fire-sensitive areas in the district through a presentation. He emphasised the need to inscribe slogans on various government and non-government signboards in important public areas to raise awareness about protecting forest wealth from fires.

In Himachal Pradesh, 1,706 fire incidents, including 422 incidents from Dharamsala circle, 264 from Mandi and 230 from Hamirpur circle, have been reported.

As many as 103 forest fire incidents have been reported in Chamba circle, affecting a total of 1,141.68 hectares. Highest number of fire incidents in the district have been reported from the Dalhousie division, with the maximum concentration of chir pine forests. The authorities in the Dalhousie division are registering FIRs and sending notices to the people who set the forests on fire, besides suspending their forest rights.

The meeting was attended by Divisional Forest Officers Kritagya Kumar and Sushil Kumar, Commandant Home Guard Vinod Dhiman, Project Officer Rural Development Agency Jaywanti Thakur, Deputy Director Agriculture Kuldeep Dhiman, Horticulture Officer Pramod Shah, Block Development Officers Ramanveer Chauhan (Mehla), Manish Kumar (Chowari), Sushma Kumari (Chamba), Rakesh Kumar (Churah), and Executive Engineers of Jal Shakti Department Hamindra Chouna and Jitendra Sharma, along with various other departmental officials.