The Indian Air Force has taken up all required initiatives to tackle the forest fire in Goa by deploying helicopters to disperse water over the affected areas.Augmenting its firefighting effort near Goa with Mi-17 helicopters, the Indian Air Force dispensed over 25,000 litres of water over the affected areas on Saturday. So far, 47,000 litres of water have been dispensed by the IAF over the affected area, according to officials.
According to information, 48 fire spots have been detected since March 5 through Saturday. Of those, 41 fires have already been doused, while seven are reported to be active. Further, as per the officials, the Indian Air Force is coordinating with the Indian Navy and the civil administration in combating forest fires in the affected areas of the coastal state.
In the recent past, the IAF had also undertaken similar operations in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Manipur. With forest fires continuing to rage in Goa, the Union environment ministry on Saturday established a 24×7 control room to monitor in real time alerts generated by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).
Earlier on Wednesday, Goa Forest Minister VishwajitRane informed that a detailed inquiry has been ordered into the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary fire.
