Uttarakhand’s Nainital in Danger? Boating stopped at Naini Lake, forest fire in 33.34 hectares threatens civilian | Top points

The Nainital district administration has stopped boating at the Naini Lake and operations to douse the fire are still on.

Author
Sonia Dham
Follow us:
Courtesy: PTI

There are reports of a serious forest fire near Nainital that is threatening a civilian area. The scene turned horrific when a severe form of fire was noticed near Nainital High Court Colony on Friday. The Nainital administration has asked the forest department employees and army personnel to control the blaze. The administration has called for Indian Air Force helicopters to douse the fire if the situation spirals out of control.

According to the sources, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land, in 24 hours.

Here are the top points

  • The fire is close to Nainital's High Court Colony, located in a forested area.
  • The fire danger has become so serious that the Nainital administration has called in the army to help fight the blaze.
  • Forest department personnel are also battling the fire as it is anticipated that fire may reach sensitive locations like the Pines area.
  • As a precaution, boating on Naini Lake has been suspended by the administration. The administration has deployed 42 fire personnel to extinguish the fire in the area.
  • 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land, in 24 hours.

There are concerns that the fire could reach nearby military installations. The situation is reportedly under control at the moment, but authorities are closely monitoring it. According to the sources, the police has arrested three men for allegedly starting forest fires in two different areas of Jakholi and Rudraprayag.

Meanwhile, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand has asked the administration to keep closer look on the same.

It is to be noted that this is not the first time the forest in Nainital has been engulfed in fire. Since November last year till now, a total of 575 incidents of forest fire have been reported in the state, affecting 689.89 hectares of forest area.