Nainital Forest Fire: IAF Helicopter Draws Water from Bhimtal Lake to Fight Wildfire

An IAF helicopter in Nainital collected water from Bhimtal Lake on Saturday to assist in controlling a nearby wildfire that had reached the High Court Colony in the town. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force were summoned to help contain the forest fire near Uttarakhand's Nainital, which had been burning for the past 36 hours. In the footage, a Mi-17 helicopter can be observed collecting water in a bucket-like container. Over the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fires were reported from various parts of the state, resulting in the destruction of 33.34 hectares of forest land.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had earlier instructed officials to remain vigilant and take preventive measures by coordinating with all departments. The fire that erupted in the forest near Nainital district headquarters became severe, posing a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area and impacting traffic movement in the vicinity.

Chandrashekhar Joshi, the Nainital Divisional Forest Officer, stated, "We have deployed 40 Manora Range personnel and two forest rangers to extinguish the fire." According to the Forest Department's daily bulletin, 26 forest fire incidents occurred in the Kumaon region of the state in the last 24 hours, with five incidents reported in the Garhwal region, affecting 33.34 hectares of forest area.

Abhimanyu, the Rudraprayag Divisional Forest Officer, announced in a press release that a team had been formed to prevent forest fires. Naresh Bhatt, a sheep herder from Tadiyaal village of Jakholi, was apprehended at the scene while setting a fire in the forest. During interrogation, Bhatt confessed to starting the fire to promote new grass growth for grazing his sheep.