NAINITAL: Uttarakhand's Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, announced on Saturday that the Indian Army and Air Force helicopters are helping to control forest fires in the state.
The fires have spread to Nainital after burning for over 36 hours, damaging many hectares of greenery.
A huge fire started in the Ladiyakata area of the Nainital Air Force Centre on Friday. The fire has been burning for more than 36 hours, spreading through dense forests in the mountainous area.
The district administration has also deployed helicopters in the firefighting operations.
"The forest fires are a challenge for us. This is a big fire. We are working to meet all the essential needs. We have asked for help from the Army. Army helicopters are also spraying water in the affected area," Dhami told the media.
"I am going to conduct a meeting in Haldwani today. We have also conducted a meeting in Dehradun regarding the fires."
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed MI-17 helicopters to help with the firefighting efforts. These helicopters are scooping water from Nainital Lake to extinguish the flames, which has temporarily stopped boating activities on the lake.
Rahul Anand, Executive Officer of the Nainital Municipal Corporation, explained that safety measures were implemented to allow the IAF helicopters to collect water from Nainital Lake.
According to officials, the IAF helicopters are taking water from the nearby Bhimtal Lake in Nainital and spraying it in the area to control and eventually extinguish the intense forest fire.
Earlier, Rahul Anand stated that during an aerial inspection, MI-17 helicopters were spraying water in the affected areas to combat the intense forest fire.
"I conducted an aerial inspection and can confirm that IAF helicopters have been involved in firefighting operations in the affected forests since this morning."
The fire has already burned through several hectares of forested land, and the flames are still not completely under control.
According to officials, the IAF helicopters conducted aerial surveys over Nainital, Bhimtal, and Sattal lakes to find suitable locations to collect water for the firefighting operation. The helicopters, equipped with sacks and buckets hanging from ropes, were seen spraying water over the affected forests around Nainital until the latest updates.
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