Helicopter sought to check fires

Dehradun, April 29

The Uttarakhand Forest Department has written a letter to the state administration seeking helicopter services for identifying areas that have been severely affected by forest fires. Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Panning and Finance) Jairaj said they had also written to the state administration for a helicopter so that forest fires could be pinpointed for prompt remedial action.

Jairaj told The Tribune that a helicopter would help them in identifying spots affected by forest fires and would help the ground staff in dealing with such incidents effectively.

“This technique is used in countries in Europe where some chemicals mixed with water are sprayed to douse forest fires. This is not feasible in our country, as it is very expensive and most used to douse crown fires that blaze on upper parts of trees,” Jairaj said.—TNS