[caption id="attachment_243515" align="aligncenter" width="900"]
Wildfire engulfs near Meipou village in Manipur on Thursday, April 11. (EM Images)[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Imphal, April 12 (EMN): Prompt action of the Assam Rifles on Thursday, April 11 saved a village from wildfire in Manipur.
On April 11, at around 5pm a vigilant sentry in one of the duty post of Pallel Garrison of 26 Sector Assam Rifles spotted a wild fire approaching the parameter of the garrison and a nearby Meipou village, said PRO Assam Rifles (South).
“Responding promptly to the situation, two teams led by officers rushed to the spots and cordoned the area immediately to ensure the safety of civilians followed by controlling the wild fire with all available fire fighting equipments, it said.
Three water bowers with pumps and pipes were pressed into service to control the wildfire.
By 10.30pm in the night, PRO said troops were able to control the situation.
It may be mentioned that north-eastern states have reported the highest number of forest fire incidents in the country and northern states the lowest, said the latest report of the Forest Survey of India (FSI).
The eight NE states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura – recorded over 15000 fire alerts or incidents on an average each year, said the report released in 2017. The average has been calculated on the basis baseline data collected between 2003 and 2016.
The NE average is nearly two times more than that of central states, which reported 9000 forest fire alerts or incidents on an average every year.
“The geographical area of north-eastern states is the lowest, but the fire alerts as well as incidents are the highest,” said E Vikram, deputy director of FSI, Dehradun report.
