Forest fire on the peak of Varunavat mountain situated on the top of Uttarkashi district headquarters was reported which had reached closed to the collectorate. The forest of Varunavat mountain is seen burning fiercely. The outbreak of fire in the scorching heat is proving to be a big disaster for Uttarkashi. Along with the burning of trees and plants, the Shyam Smriti forest planted with great effort by the famous environmentalist Pratap Pokhriyal at the foothills of Varunavat is also facing the threat of fire.
Due to the fierce fire in the forests of Ganga and Yamuna along with the peak of Varunavat mountain, the local people and pilgrims are facing a lot of trouble. The smoke rising from the forest fire has also covered the city. Due to which the heat has increased. So far in 44 reported incidents of forest fire in Uttarkashi Forest Division, 31.63 hectares of forest has been burnt to ashes.
The forests above Dang, Pokhari village in Mukhem range had caught fire since Tuesday night. The forest continued to burn even during the night. By late Wednesday evening, this fire became fierce, which spread from the upper forest of Dang, Pokhari village to above Manera. In Uttarkashi forest division, after Mukhem range, Dharasu range is second with 15 incidents and Dunda range is third with around 6 incidents in terms of maximum forest fire incidents. The administration has sent teams of NDRF, SDRF, QRT along with forest workers to extinguish the fire.