Uttarakhand: 270 trees on the verge of falling due to forest fire…
The forest fire in Ranikhet in the past few days and now the rain and storm have increased the trouble. Due to the forest fire, the trees standing on the side of the highway have become weak after burning. These are falling on the highway and footpaths every day. There are more than 270 trees on Ranikhet-Haldwani, Almora-Panar, Ranikhet-Ramnagar highways which can cause a big accident anytime.
The forest fire has caused a lot of damage to the forest wealth. The fire has engulfed thousands of trees in every area of the district. These trees have become weak after burning and now the danger of their falling has increased. Samvad News Agency investigated the trees which have become a danger on the side of the major Ranikhet-Haldwani, Almora-Panar and Ranikhet-Ramnagar highways of the district.
There are 120 trees on the Almora-Panar highway connecting Pithoragarh district, 20 trees in a radius of five km from Bhujan to Pilkholi on the Ranikhet-Haldwani highway and more than 30 trees in a radius of eight km from Tadikhet to Richi on the Ranikhet-Ramnagar highway which can fall anytime in a storm. Thousands of vehicles, passengers and tourists travel on both the highways every day. Safety arrangements have not been made yet from these trees.
Danger remains on internal routes too
The roads passing through the forest near Tunakot, Kilkot, Pilkholi, Bhandargaon, Pantkotuli of Ranikhet area connect many villages. Many trees are falling every day in the forests here and there is a danger of many trees falling.
UPCL suffers loss, people face power cuts
The period of rain has started in the district. It is raining with storm every day. In such a situation, trees which are already weak due to forest fires are falling on power lines as well. UPCL is suffering huge losses due to this and people are facing power cuts.
Ranikhet-Ramnagar highway has been jammed
Six days ago, due to a storm, the traffic on Ranikhet-Ramnagar highway was halted for more than three hours. Many tourists had to sit in their vehicles till midnight and wait for relief. Luckily, no tree fell on any vehicle, thus a major accident was averted. Dialogue
Trees have been damaged due to forest fires. A letter has been issued to the concerned departments to inform them about the trees that pose a threat around highways and government buildings. After getting this information, necessary steps will be taken in collaboration with the Forest Corporation.
- Deepak Singh, DFO, Forest Division, Almora.
