Fire breaks out in Shimla’s Shali Tibba area

Shimla, June 14

A massive fire has broken out at Shali Tibba, a famous religious spot around 40 km from Shimla, and nearby panchayats. While the fire at Shali Tibba broke out late on Wednesday evening, the nearby panchayats like Khatnol, Kiryali are battling the flames for nearly a week now.

“At least three or four houses have been gutted in the forest fires. One house was gutted in Deola-Thaila panchayat while three have been gutted in the nearby Kiryali panchayat,” said Pooran Dutt Sharma, pradhan, gram panchayat Khatnol. The local and tourists trek to the Shali Tibba top from a little beyond the Khatnol panchayat. “Besides, one person of our village has lost his life due to the forest fire. He went to douse the fire with a few others a few days back in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, he was suffocated and was admitted to the hospital, where he passed away after a couple of days,” said Sharma.

While confirming that three to four houses have been gutted in the area over the last few days, Range Officer Devi Singh Thakur said the villagers and forest staff had been trying day and night to control the fire and save the houses close to the blazing flames. “The villagers are living under a constant threat of the blaze reaching their homes. It’s impossible to put out the fire as the flames rise up to 50 to 100 feet. All we are thinking at the moment is to save our lives and homes. We have never seen such fires, more than 80 per cent of the forest is burnt,” said Sharma.

Sharma said that the Shali Tibba slope was grassy and hence the fire was spreading around rapidly. “As the fire has covered the entire forest, several wild animals and bird have perished,” he said.

Sharma feels their trouble won’t end even after the blaze is controlled. “When it will start raining or strong winds start blowing, these nearly burnt trees will fall down. There will be nothing in the forest to stop water from rushing down into the villages, and the events like landslips and mudslides will increase,” he said.