STATE TIMES NEWS
KATRA: Two of the three major forest fires which had broken out separately on 16th and 17th May in Trikuta Hills- Sirla / Nangla Range and in Devi Pindian Sector have been brought under control by the Shrine Board’s Forest Team with the active involvement of local villagers, said a spokesperson of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
“Prolonged dry spell coupled with steep slopes and gusty winds led to spread of fire to nearby Ranges of Trikuta Hills. The intensity and extent of fire at Sukhal Ghati/ Khandi Dhar ridge has also come down. The efforts of ground teams of the Shrine Board and CRPF Jawans engaged in control of fire for last three days were also aided by the Air Force which conducted six sorties on 18th May to sprinkle water over affected areas. The MI 17 deployed for the purpose lifted 70,000 liters of water in each round from the nearly Salal Dam,” spokesman added.
A Shrine Board spokesman maintained that the Yatra including that by helicopters is going on smoothly and 33,241 pilgrims had Darshan on 17th May 2016. Nearly 200 persons deployed by the Shrine Board and CRPF are camping at various sites on the Trikuta Hills for controlling the fire.
Dr. M.K Kumar, IFS, Additional CEO, Shri Pankaj Gupta, Dy. CEO and Rajinder Singh, OSD of the Shrine Board have been camping at Adhkuwari to oversee the operation, he added.
