Nainital forest fire threatens civilian area; boating stopped in Naini Lake, army called: 10 points

The Nainital district administration has banned boating in Naini Lake because of the forest fire.

A forest fire in Uttarakhand took a severe form on Friday as the flames reached Nainital's High Court Colony. The Nainital administration has called forest department employees and army personnel to control the blaze. They may press helicopters in the fire-fighting operation if the situation spirals out of control.

Here are 10 points on the Nainital Forest Fire

1. According to reports, the fire near Nainital's district headquarters posed a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area. It also hampered traffic.
2. "The fire has engulfed an old and vacant house located near The Pines. It has not caused any damage to High Court Colony but it has reached dangerously close to the buildings. Efforts have been made to control the fire since evening," a resident told PTI.
3. There are possibilities of the fire reaching sensitive army locations near the Pines area.
4. The Nainital district administration has banned boating in Naini Lake because of the forest fire.
5. The Nainital administration has deployed 42 personnel to extinguish the fire. "We have deployed 40 Manora Range personnel and two forest rangers to extinguish the fire," Nainital Divisional Forest Officer Chandrashekhar Joshi told the agency.
6. Uttarakhand's forest department has said that over 24 hours, 26 incidents of forest fire were reported in the state's Kumaon region and five in the Garhwal region. 33.34 hectares of forest area was affected due to the fire.
7. From November 1 last year, a total of 575 incidents of forest fire have been reported in the state, affecting 689.89 hectares of forest area and costing the state more than ₹14 lakh, reported the agency.
8. The Uttarakhand authorities arrested three men for allegedly starting forest fires in Jakholi and Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag's Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu in a press release said that the action was taken by a team formed to prevent forest fire.
9. One of those arrested was Naresh Bhatt of Tadiyaal village of Jakholi, who was caught setting fire in the forest. He allegedly started the fire so that his sheep could get new grass.
10. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the administration to remain on alert and take measures to prevent forest fires.

A forest fire in Uttarakhand. (HT File Photo)