The forest fire, which started on Thursday morning, was brought under control by the evening with the intervention by the fire operators and officials of the Forest Department, and with the help of local residents.
EOI, DARJEELING, MAY 2, 2024 : The
sudden forest fire at Topkey Dara,
near 3rd Mile, around 19 km from
Darjeeling, has posed an imminent
threat to the breeding center for red
panda and snow leopards at Topkey
Dara, just one km away.
The area
falls under the Senchal Wildlife
Sanctuary and is run by the
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan
Zoological Park (PNHZP).
falls under the Senchal Wildlife
Sanctuary and is run by the
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan
Zoological Park (PNHZP).
The forest fire, which started on
Thursday morning, was brought
under control by the evening with
the intervention by the fire
operators and officials of the Forest
Department, and with the help of
local residents.
Thursday morning, was brought
under control by the evening with
the intervention by the fire
operators and officials of the Forest
Department, and with the help of
local residents.
Ranger Uttam Pradhan of the
Darjeeling Wildlife Division
Sinchel East Range said: “The fire
might have started around 7 a.m. We
came to know about the fire only
after we got a phone call around 7.20
a.m. when a former forest staff
informed us about it, seeing smoke
coming out of the area. He had seen
the smoke from Mall Road in
Darjeeling.
Darjeeling Wildlife Division
Sinchel East Range said: “The fire
might have started around 7 a.m. We
came to know about the fire only
after we got a phone call around 7.20
a.m. when a former forest staff
informed us about it, seeing smoke
coming out of the area. He had seen
the smoke from Mall Road in
Darjeeling.
Acting on the
information we went for inspection
and found that fire had started from
3rd Mile and was spreading
towards the Breeding Centre.
Another fire had also started at 6th
Mile on the road towards
Kalimpong. We had to face a lot of
difficulty trying to fight two fires.”
information we went for inspection
and found that fire had started from
3rd Mile and was spreading
towards the Breeding Centre.
Another fire had also started at 6th
Mile on the road towards
Kalimpong. We had to face a lot of
difficulty trying to fight two fires.”
Pradhan said initially fire
extinguishers were utilized to fight
the spreading fire with the Fire
Department from Darjeeling town
also sending one fire tender to help
them.
extinguishers were utilized to fight
the spreading fire with the Fire
Department from Darjeeling town
also sending one fire tender to help
them.
A fire tender that has been
kept as reserve by the fire
department in the Dispersion Centre
and Receipt Centre (DCRC) set up
at Darjeeling Government College
(DGC) where strong rooms have
been made for the recently
concluded polls though could not
be utilized.
kept as reserve by the fire
department in the Dispersion Centre
and Receipt Centre (DCRC) set up
at Darjeeling Government College
(DGC) where strong rooms have
been made for the recently
concluded polls though could not
be utilized.
“We also requested
water tanks that sell water from
perennial water sources like
Kalikhola close by to this area to
help us in supplying water. They
helped by bringing water in 10
vehicles,” Pradhan said. Each of the
trucks which supply water to
Darjeeling town can carry 2000 litres
of water at a time. The local police
force, staff of the PNHZP and the
forest department along with locals
from nearby villages located in 3rd
Mile, Dabaipani, Naya Basti among
other places where the Joint Forest
Management Committee also exists
pitched in to fight the forest fire.
water tanks that sell water from
perennial water sources like
Kalikhola close by to this area to
help us in supplying water. They
helped by bringing water in 10
vehicles,” Pradhan said. Each of the
trucks which supply water to
Darjeeling town can carry 2000 litres
of water at a time. The local police
force, staff of the PNHZP and the
forest department along with locals
from nearby villages located in 3rd
Mile, Dabaipani, Naya Basti among
other places where the Joint Forest
Management Committee also exists
pitched in to fight the forest fire.
Fire lines were also made in places
by cutting grass to ensure that the
fire did not spread. When asked
about how the fire could have
started Pradhan stated, “The exact
reason for the fire starting is not
known but the month of April to
May is a very dry season with the
jungles also very dry. The few days
have also been excessively windy,
and a natural fire could have started
due to friction caused by the wind
and with the forest being dry a
small fire can get out of control.”
by cutting grass to ensure that the
fire did not spread. When asked
about how the fire could have
started Pradhan stated, “The exact
reason for the fire starting is not
known but the month of April to
May is a very dry season with the
jungles also very dry. The few days
have also been excessively windy,
and a natural fire could have started
due to friction caused by the wind
and with the forest being dry a
small fire can get out of control.”
Pradhan also said that though more
than 80 percent of the fire had been
brought under control by the
afternoon, the day being windy and
with chances of ground fires still
burning underneath there, the
surface could ignite again. He said
that this fire was hard to detect.
than 80 percent of the fire had been
brought under control by the
afternoon, the day being windy and
with chances of ground fires still
burning underneath there, the
surface could ignite again. He said
that this fire was hard to detect.
“We
will stay on vigil throughout the
night and there could be the danger
of the fire starting again,” he said
while adding that the extent of area
damage could not be ascertained
right now
will stay on vigil throughout the
night and there could be the danger
of the fire starting again,” he said
while adding that the extent of area
damage could not be ascertained
right now