Uttarakhand forest fire: HC to hear matter on Wednesday, asks PCCF to be present

Taking cognizance of increasing forest fire in the state, Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Rajiv Bhartari to appear before it on Wednesday.

A high court bench, including Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma, took the decision and said that the hearing of the matter will be heard tomorrow stating that "forest fire is a major threat for environment and human".

Expressing its displeasure with the state government, the court said that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people are witnessing difficulty in breathing and the smoke of the forest fire can prove to be more deadly for them.

The PCCF has to be present in the court virtually, the court has ordered.

Fire, which broke out at 964 locations in 62 hectares of forest area in Uttarakhand, has killed four persons and seven mals so far.

The central government has provided helicopters to the state government to extinguish the fires of the mountainous areas that broke out on April 2. The fire dousing operation is underway.

Amid the operation, the water that was collected from Tehri lake was sprinkled with the help of a 5000-litre capacity bucket.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Sunday had called an emergency meeting over the forest fires in the state.

( With inputs from ANI )