Indian Army, IAF Called In As Forestfire In Nainital Reaches High Court Colony

Indian Air Force's Mi-17 helicopter has been deployed to extinguishing the wildfires.

New Delhi: In Uttarakhand's Nainital district, relentless wildfires persist, with the flames edging closer to the High Court Colony. Responding to the emergency, the Indian armed forces have been mobilized to combat the inferno.

With Mi-17 helicopter, the Indian Air Force is actively engaged in extinguishing the wildfires by drawing water from Bhimtal Lake and dousing the blaze from above.

Along with the Forest Department, both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army are working tirelessly to contain the fire, which has raged for over 36 hours, scorching hectares of forest land in Nainital.

#WATCH | Nainital: The Uttarakhand government is working to extinguish forest fires in Nainital with the help of the Army's MI 17 helicopters. https://t.co/AKbCmU9jMB pic.twitter.com/dL7EzGBcZC — ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 27, 2024

In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land.

Meanwhile Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the officials to remain on alert and take measures to prevent the fires by coordinating with all departments.
Speaking to ANI Dhami said, "The forest fires are a challenge for us. This is a big fire. We are working for all the essential needs. We have asked for help from the Army... I am going to conduct a meeting in Haldwani today. We have conducted a meeting in Dehradun also regarding this. We will try to control the fire as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, three men were arrested and sent to jail for allegedly starting forest fires in two different areas of 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.