Taking Uttarakhand forest fires very seriously: Prakash Javadekar

NEW DELHI: Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Centre was taking the forest fires in Uttarakhand "very seriously" and making all efforts to control it even as his ministry today began trial runs for a pre-fire alert system that will issue warnings via SMS.

"Government is taking the forest fires of Uttarakhand very seriously. 6000 people have been deployed for fighting it. We also granted Rs 5 crore to the state yesterday.

"Our top officer, including the DG of Forest department is on the spot guiding the local forces. The air force, the Home Ministry...all are helping and guiding the residents there," he said.

The government will study the reasons behind such major fires and prepare an action plan accordingly, he said.

"The larger issue is why such fire occurs in the summer season. We will study the reasons and come out with an action plan on how to control it in future all over the country," Javadekar said.

He said his ministry today began trial runs for a pre-fire alert system that will issue warnings via SMS about possible fire outbreaks in the country so that the forest department could attend to them immediately.

"We are issuing fire alerts through satellite since last year. Wherever a fire breaks out in any remote forest, we get to know immediately. But these alerts are only issued after the fire has started," Javadekar said.

"This is a new technology developed by our forest institutes...It will generate pre-fire alerts. SMS will be sent to all departments and officers concerned so that action can be taken immediately," he said.