20160503 India Fire has claimed 4 lives, says govt
India May 03 2016 “Forest”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 1 to 9
Fire has claimed 4 lives, says govt
Updated: 2016-05-03-22:39
According to figures released by the state government, four people have died in various fire related incidents in the different forest areas of Uttarakhand till date although the unofficial count may be higher.
On Monday itself, three deaths were reported as Uttarakhand police constable Pankaj Chauhan died after being hit by a boulder in the head during a firefighting operation in Chamoli district during late hours, while a youth who was injured earlier died in Mori block of Uttarkashi, and an elderly woman who was badly burnt while dousing fires in Bageshwar district succumbed to her injuries.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, additional chief secretary S Ramaswami confirmed the total number of deaths to be four, although the unofficial count may be higher.
Constable Chauhan, 26, was recruited in Uttarakhand police in 2012. A resident of Srinagar under Pauri district, he was from a family of farmers. The constable was engrossed in the operation when boulders fell on his head during the firefighting efforts at Chara area on the outskirts of Chamoli town. The police team rushed him to Chamoli district hospital, where Chauhan was declared dead on arrival.
In a similar incident, Uttarkashi resident Rajesh Singh, 30, died near Chiwa-Aarakot, when he was hit by boulders. He was walking near the Malna jungle area, which was affected by fire. People rushed him to a nearby PHC, but he died on the way.
A resident of Dungri Chaura village, Khimuli Devi, 70, suffered burn injuries while dousing fires near her village. She succumbed to injuries on Monday.
On April 26, a mother and her six-year-old son were burnt alive in a fire that broke out in the huts located near Motahaldu gate, close to Gaula river in Haldwani. Rita Chandra, 40, who was from Jharkhand, spotted her hut engulfed in fire. With her six-year son inside the hut, she rushed inside to save him. Both of them were charred to death.
Inspector general (Garhwal) Sanjay Gunjyal, who is the nodal officer for the firefighting operations in the region, said as an outcome of the large-scale efforts by the Indian Air Force, NDRF, SDRF and state police, majority of the fires have been doused. “The number of active fires has gone down. Rains have been witnessed in some areas and we are optimistic that the forest fires would be doused by Wednesday,” he said.
According to Gunjyal, around 1,000 policemen are involved in the firefighting efforts and, if required, more cops would be used on Wednesday.
Web Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA
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