The Hindu : National : Wildfires ravage Sikkim grassland

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 29, 2006

National

National

Wildfires ravage Sikkim grassland

Special Correspondent

Army called in to assist forest authorities fight blaze

Kolkata: The Army has been called in to assist the Sikkim's forest authorities to fight wildfires that have ravaged wide swathes of grassland at altitudes over 8,000 feet in the North District.

Similar fires had broken out in the three other districts of Sikkim - West, South and East Districts - early this month.

"The State is undergoing an unprecedented drought this winter and the inflammatory potentials of the forest floor have increased several folds with the grasslands becoming virtual tinder-boxes," Sikkim's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Forest Secretary T. R. Poudyal told The Hindu from Gangtok on Friday.

"All measures are being taken to prevent the fires from spreading to the reserved forests areas of the State," he said. Nearly 46 per cent of the total area of Sikkim is under forest cover.

150 acres devastated

The fire at Lachung in Sikkim's North District has been raging at an altitude of 10,000 feet since January 22, having spread across nearly 250 hectares of sloping grassland. A fresh fire was reported from nearby Chumthang the next day, which devastated about 150 hectares.

"The Army is assisting the local fire services and the Forest Department in extinguishing these fires. Even though they continue to rage today we have succeeded in putting off nearly 80 per cent of the two fires," he said.

"They have been prevented from spreading to the forest areas and there has been no report of any damage to either flora or fauna," Mr. Poudyal added.

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