Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Sunday called an emergency meeting over the forest fires in the state.
“We asked the Centre to give us two choppers to control the fire situation. We have been given the same. We are hoping to douse fire using choppers today,” CM Rawat said told ANI after the meeting. Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured all help to the Uttarakhand government to combat the fire that broke out in the forest area of the state on Saturday.
“To control over the forest fire in Uttarakhand, the Central government has given orders to deploy NDRF teams and provide helicopters to the Uttarakhand government,” Shah tweeted in Hindi.
Uttarakhand Minister Harak Singh Rawat informed that the fire broke out at 964 locations in the state.
“Fire broke out at 964 locations in the state. A total of seven animals and four persons died and two persons injured. The weather made it challenging for the state government. The Chief Minister and I are monitoring the situation separately. We will try to douse the fire with helicopters,” he said.
Meanwhile, four persons and seven animals have died in a fire that broke out in 62 hectares of forest area in the last 24 hours
“12,000 guards and fire watchers of state forest dept deployed to douse the fire. Fire destroyed property worth Rs 37 lakhs so far,” said the Principal Chief Conservator.