RUDRAPRAYAG, April 26: Three men were arrested on Friday after being caught trying to set fire to the forests in two different areas of the district, an officer said.
Sheep herder Naresh Bhatt was arrested from Tadiyal village in Jakholi area while he was trying to set fire to the forest, Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu said.
Bhatt confessed that he was setting the forest ablaze so that fresh grass can grow for his sheep to graze.
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He has been booked under Indian Forest Act, 1927.
Two more, Hemant Singh and Bhagwati Lal, were arrested from Dangwal village in similar circumstances, the DFO said.
Forest fires are raging in different parts of Uttarakhand these days.
The state on Thursday recorded 54 fires which destroyed around 75 hectares of forest land, most of which located in the Kumaon region, a forest official said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked officials in Dehradun to be on alert against forest fires.
Other departments should also be on alert mode to prevent them, Dhami said.
The CM also called for people’s cooperation in controlling the fires. (PTI)
