Uttarakhand forest fire: Four people arrested, situation under control

At least four people have been arrested in connection with the Uttarakhand forest fire that engulfed large part of the hill state.

When asked if the fire in the forest was man-made, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said, "We have arrested four people."

Javadekar also said that he has asked to deploy more than 10,000 employees to put out the Uttarakhand forest fire in three-four days. 

"More than 6,000 employees are already on the job, while DG (Forest) is leading and coordinating the operation from the front for the past two days," he said, adding that the government has already sanctioned the required amount.

(Nainital: IAF's Mi-17 v5 continues fire fighting operations in areas affected by - ANI)

At least seven people have died and 15 others injured in the fires so far. About 2,269 hectares of forested land have been destroyed with Pauri, Nainital, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Almora districts bearing most of the brunt.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Indian Air Force are working in tandem to douse the fire.

As forest fires continue to rage, three Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday dumped loads of water on the blaze in Nainital and Pauri districts.

The authorities claimed the situation was gradually getting better, and the latest satellite imagery of forest fires shows the blaze has been extinguished in over 75% of the affected area in the hill state.

(With ANI inputs)