Over 6,000 people have been pressed into service to douse the flames.
Why is the hill-state of Uttarakhand so prone to forest fires? In the last one month itself, the state has seen 1,233 incidents of forest fires.
While saying that all forests see fires during summer, Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar admitted that there has been a spurt in the incidents this year. "The pine trees across Uttarakhand forests catch fire quickly and even a cigarette or beedi can start one," he said.
Ashwani Kumar, director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, offered a scientific explanation. "There is accumulation of biomass from trees on the forest floor and they catch fire immediately. Factors such as above-normal temperature, lack of moisture, high wind speeds and a long dry spell have also contributed," he said.
On being asked whether the timber mafia was involved, Javadekar said: "We have got some reports from various quarters and we will investigate the matter."This summer, 1,233 fire incidents have affected nearly 1,900 hectares of forest land. In 2012, 1,265 incidents had ravaged more than 2,000 hectares, according to the Forest Survey of India.
In the latest incident, more than 6,000 people have been pressed into service to douse the flames. To add strength to the operations, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent three teams. "We have deployed three teams comprising 136 people in Chamoli, Almora and Pauri – the worst-affected districts. They are using green, moist branches and are also engaged in fire-line cutting," said a senior NDRF official, operations wing.
Fire-line cutting involves clearing off continuous vegetation to stop a forest fire from spreading. Usually done before summer season, the widespread fire has necessitated fire-line cutting.
The Indian Air Force too engaged its Mi-17 V5 choppers for fire extinguishing. Two IAF Mi17 V5 helicopters collected water from the Bhimtal lake and Shrinagar dam on Sunday and sprayed it over the affected area. The under-slung red-coloured Bambi bucket can carry around 4,000 litres of water each, said IAF sources.
Javadekar said on Sunday that the Centre has taken a "very serious note" of the fire and everyone, including the prime minister's office and the home and defence ministries, has been cooperating with the state to control the situation. "The director general of forests has been stationed in Uttarakhand for the past two days to monitor the fire-fighting operations and he had a meeting with local officials to prepare the next plan of action. We are immediately sanctioning Rs 5 crore to help the ongoing operations," said Javadekar.
"The fires have been widespread and we have pressed forest guards and contract labourers to douse the fires. We have also called for assistance from Uttar Pradesh," said a senior forest official.
The successive drought and record-breaking heat wave in the country has aggravated the situation, experts said. Like most states, Uttarakhand, too, has recorded above-normal summer temperature and has witnessed a long dry spell. The hill-state receives some rainfall even during summer owing to western disturbances.
(With inputs from Deevakar Anand)
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 "Uttarakhand forest fire")
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