Rain in many parts of Uttarakhand yesterday has come as a huge relief as it doused the raging forest fires that destroyed over 3,000 acres of forest cover. Higher reaches of Rudraprayag, including Kedarnath and Gaurikund received rain on Tuesday, while the parts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts received light rain.
Rain received in areas of Uttarakhand is as follows: Haridwar 1 mm, Dehradun 7 mm, and Pithoragarh 2.2 mm. Shimla in Himachal Pradesh has also received 4 mm of rain.
6,000 men including the Army, the Air Force and three teams of National Disaster Relief Force have been working round the clock to control the erratic fires. As many as 573 incidents of fire have been reported so far.
The dry and hot conditions have caused fires in the mid and lower hill areas, particularly the pine forests. An unusually large number of fires have been reported from various districts, except tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts.
A major relief is in store as Skymet Weather predicts widespread rain and thundershowers in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh till May 5 due to the presence of the Western Disturbance.
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