Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: As many as 3,751 incidents of forest fires were reported in Goa between January and March 15 this year, chief Minister Pramod Sawant said adding that the forest fires in the state were a “new phenomenon”.
Replying to a calling attention motion, the chief minister also announced that the state was revamping its forest fires management plan.
“The existing state action plan on forest fires is being revamped and a comprehensive action plan for management of forest fires is under consideration and will include all aspects to handle forest fires more efficiently and effectively so that there is no threat to life and property,” Sawant said.
“The department attended 3,751 forest fires from January 1 to March 15 and extinguished the fires with help of existing fire fighting vehicles and manpower. Whenever the director of fire and emergency services faces shortage of the requisite equipment for dousing fire in the unapproachable areas, assistance is being sought from the Indian Navy,” Sawant added.
The CM added that 77 fires were detected in the month of March alone.
Sawant admitted that there has been “a higher reporting of forest fires in Goa from the March first week onwards”.
“This year, extreme weather conditions have been recorded and there has been no or scanty rains since mid-October and above average temperatures and very low humidity is being seen,” Sawant said.
Forest minister Vishwajit Rane added that this year, Goa has seen 418 acres of forest area affected due to forest fires as compared to 587 over the previous five years.
