Uttarakhand: CM Dhami held a meeting regarding forest fire and supply of drinking water, gave these instructions to road construction agencies
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the Forest, Drinking Water, Road and Electricity departments at the Forest Training Academy, Haldwani on Thursday. He instructed the senior officers to remain in the field on the spot for effective prevention of forest fire incidents and to maintain the morale of the personnel. The Chief Minister directed that the fire lines of the British era, which are still in existence, should be restored so that the forests can be saved to a great extent from forest fires.
The Chief Minister also directed the Forest Department personnel to maintain better coordination with the villagers. He said that with better coordination, villagers will play the role of allies in times of any kind of disaster. This will help to a great extent in reducing the impact of disaster and the villagers will also feel connected to their forests.
The Chief Minister said that although the Forest Department is making efforts to deal with the incidents of forest fire with time, in this direction the Forest Department should prepare an inclusive plan for the state so that the number of fires occurring every year can be minimized. In this regard, he laid emphasis on studying the models developed in the country as well as abroad and said that efforts should be made to include it in the plan of our state as per the need. The Chief Minister said that the Forest Department should focus on strengthening its structure from the lower level and implementing the works in a better way.
The Chief Minister instructed the road construction agencies to pay special attention to the quality in road construction. Also asked to plant saplings according to the ecology of the area on the crash barriers being installed for road safety. Instructions were given to ensure smooth supply of drinking water so that the common people do not face drinking water problems during the summer season. He said that if the drinking water line is disrupted due to any reason, arrangements for supply of drinking water should be made by installing additional tankers. The Chief Minister directed the Electricity Department to take necessary action to promote solar panels in government offices.
Chief Forest Conservator PK informed the Chief Minister that all fire watchers have been instructed to collect firewood. So that it can be used in future as per requirement. In the meeting, District Magistrate Vandana Singh said that this year less incidents of forest fire have occurred in the district compared to the incidents of forest fire from February 2019 to May 2024.
In the meeting, MLA Lalkua Dr. Mohan Bisht, DIG Dr. Yogendra Rawat, SSP P N Meena, District President Pratap Bisht, Mandi Parishad President Anil Kapoor, DFO TR Bijulal, Superintending Engineer Jal Sansthan Vishal Saxena, NDRF Anil Kumar as well as PWD, Electricity Department. Officials were present.
