Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Saturday that the Indian Army and Air Force helicopters are aiding in the containment of forest fires in the state. These fires, which have been burning for over 36 hours, have now reached Nainital and have ravaged several hectares of green cover.
Dhami stated that the situation posed a significant challenge and that all necessary resources were being mobilized to address it. The district administration has also deployed helicopters in the firefighting operations.
“We are facing a major challenge with the forest fires. This is a significant fire, and we are mobilizing all essential resources. We have requested assistance from the Army, and Army helicopters are also helping by spraying water in the affected area,” Dhami told ANI.
“I will be chairing a meeting in Haldwani today. We have already held a meeting in Dehradun regarding this issue. Our goal is to control the fire as quickly as possible,” he added.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed MI-17 helicopters to assist in firefighting efforts, including pulling water from Nainital Lake to extinguish the flames. This operation has temporarily halted boating activities on the lake.
Rahul Anand, Executive Officer of the Nainital Municipal Corporation, explained the safety precautions taken to allow the IAF helicopters to collect water from Nainital Lake.
“We received information that IAF helicopters needed permission to take water from Nainital to extinguish the fire. To facilitate this, we suspended boating on the lake for the day. The fire has been reported in several places in Nainital, including near the Air Force Station in the district,” Anand said.
“The primary objective of deploying helicopters for firefighting was to protect the Air Force Station. The situation is currently under control, and efforts are ongoing,” he added.
IAF choppers are lifting water from the nearby Bhimtal Lake in Nainital and spraying it in the area to contain and extinguish the forest fire, according to officials.