38 ha green cover gutted in a day in 27 forest fires in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN

: At least 27 forest

fire

incidents were reported across the

Kumaon

region on Thursday.

According to the forest authorities, windy weather in the region led to the flaring up of these wildfires. In these incidents, the state lost nearly 38 hectares of forest area -- including 16.7 hectares of reserved forest area and around 20.5 hectares of civil/van panchayat area. A preliminary estimation by the frontline staff suggests a loss of Rs 92,000 to the state exchequer due to these incidents. In contrast, no forest fire incident was reported in the

Garhwal

region on the day. Light-to-moderate rainfall in several areas of the region prevented any wildfire, say authorities.

According to official data,

Uttarakhand

has lost 663.94 hectares of green cover in 501 forest fire incidents since mid-February. Out of the total, Kumaon lost 371.8 hectares, followed by Garhwal (215.4 hectares) and wildlife area (5.5 hectares). Due to these wildfires, the state exchequer bore an estimated loss of Rs 19.7 lakh. The highest share of this loss was shared by the Kumaon region (Rs 10 lakh), followed by the Garhwal region (Rs 7.8 lakh) and the wildlife area (Rs 89,753).