As Uttarakhand continues to grapple with forest fire, the Indian Air Force on the second day of its operation, has commenced efforts to contain the forest fire near Adwani village in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.
Earlier, in the Pauri Garhwal district, thick smoke from forest fires engulfed the town of Srinagar. This resulted in a delay of the aerial firefighting operations initiated by the IAF.
Till afternoon, The Mi-17 helicopter remained grounded in the morning as there was a lack of visibility.
“The IAF chopper resumed its operation to douse the forest fires near Adwani and nearby areas in the afternoon on the second day. The thick smoke in the morning didn’t allow the chopper to begin its operation. It carried out five sorties. We will continue the operation to douse the forest fires using the chopper.”- said Swapnil Anirudh Garhwal divisional forest officer (DFO).
Taking to Twitter (Now X), IAF has recently announced, as a part of Bambi Bucket operation, they have poured over 4,500 litres of water from its Mi17 V5 helicopter to douse the flames in coordination with Uttarakhand government.
Meanwhile, the Congress has launched a blistering attack on BJP over the raging forest fire.
State Congress Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana said “The situation of forest fires continues to deteriorate in the state with each passing day, but CM Dhami is busy in the election campaign for his party outside the state. It seems there is no disaster management department in the state. When the government is failing to execute its duties in such an emergency situation, I urge the governor to intervene and pass instructions to the government for required action.”