NEW DELHI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Efforts to combat the ongoing forest fires in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand are underway, officials said Monday.
According to officials, personnel from the fire and emergency service, forest department and National Disaster Response Force are making continuous efforts to contain the blaze.
Reports said local communities are also lending their support for the firefighting efforts.
According to India's state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), federal minister Ajay Bhatt is evaluating the situation in affected areas of Nainital district.
The authorities have arrested eight people for their involvement in forest fires.
The forest fire was first reported last week in the Nanda range, which subsequently spread downwards. It has been raging since then.
According to the forest department, the fire has damaged almost 108 hectares of the forest land in Nainital. During the last 24 hours, nearly 26 incidents of forest fire occurred in Kumaon region, while five took place in Garhwal, ravaging 34.175 hectares of forest.
To contain the blaze, the local government Saturday sought help from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian army personnel. The IAF pressed their Mi-17 choppers, carring out Bambi-bucket operations in inaccessible areas. Officials said the choppers have been withdrawn, and now manual efforts are underway to put off the fire permanently.
A local media report said that from November 1, 2023 till now, 575 incidents of forest fires were recorded, which affected 689.89 hectares of forest area. ■