Drone footage of the Wokha forest fire captured on Wednesday
morning.
WOKHA — Strong
winds and dry conditions continue to aid the spread of a wildfire in Wokha as
efforts to contain the blaze entered the third day on Wednesday.
The fire, which has now reached Wokha village after
devastating a major portion of Humtso village, was first reported on March 17.
It is suspected to have started from jhum (slash-and-burn) farming practices.
Though some areas have seen the flames subside over the
days, the wildfire still persists in certain pockets and continues to escalate
in intensity with the help of strong winds.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) received the report
of the incident at around 1 pm on March 17.
Since then, a joint team comprising personnel of Fire &
Emergency Services, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), District Disaster
Management Authority (DDMA), police, and volunteers from Wokha village and
neighbouring communities have been actively involved in efforts to contain the
flames.
The fire is reported to have become uncontrollable, causing
significant damage to farmlands.
Drone surveillance shows that the fire remains visible in
locations where human intervention is not feasible.
Wokha Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) Nuhuta Tunyi informed
that volunteers, along with personnel from the DDMA, SDRF, and police, are
stationed at various strategic locations.
Villagers have been alerted and are actively engaged in
demarcating fire lines to mitigate the damage, he said.
During the firefighting operations, a sub-inspector named M
Bentick Konyak was reported missing on the evening of March 18. A search party
was activated, and volunteers combed the area until midnight but were
unsuccessful in locating him.
The search operation was resumed at around 6 am on
Wednesday, and later, at around 10 am, the missing person was found unharmed at
a rubber farm in Yikhum area.
An update from the DDMA stated that he is in good condition.
114 forest fires in two and a half months
Meanwhile, the Fire & Emergency Services issued a press
release stating that during this dry windy season, rampant and indiscriminate
burning of forests by hunters, campers, miscreants, etc., continues to occur
despite best efforts to dissuade the same.
The department reiterated that it cannot attend to all
forest fires unless they are of alarming nature or are near human settlement
areas.
It, therefore, appealed to the public and village council to
take proactive measures to nab the culprit(s) and impose action on the
miscreants as per law.
“So far, the state has witnessed 114 cases of forest fire
within a span of two and a half months (approx.), with Kohima district alone
accounting for 67 cases, which is a serious concern,” it stated.
