Himachal Pradesh to install fire alarm system in forests

Himachal Pradesh would install a fire alarm system akin to GPS in its forests in the wake of heavy damage due to the blaze every year.
    
The fire alarm system has been successful in Madhya Pradesh and taking a cue from them we have also decided to set it up in our forests, additional chief secretary, Forest, Avay Shukla told PTI today.
     
The system works on the pattern of GPS (Global Positioning System) through remote sensing and would provide fire alert message quickly, he said.
    
A team of state forest department officials studied the system in Madhya Pradesh and strongly recommended it for the hill state.
    
The HP government has awarded consultancy job to the MP forest development corporation and asked them to provide necessary inputs for installing the system within six months, Shukla said.
    
About 55,673 sq km of the HP is forest area which comes to around 24% of the total geographical area of the state.
    
About damage due to forest fire, particularly in summer, he said roughly 10,000 hectares of forest on an average suffer damage every year, incurring loss to the tune of Rs4-5 crore.
    
Shukla said besides fire alarm system, the HP government would also incorporate certain provisions from MP Forest Act to deal with encroachment and smuggling of wood.