Wildfires flare up again in Uttarakhand after brief lull
Dehradun (PTI): Forest fires have flared up again in various parts of Uttarakhand, with two major fire incidents in the Gauhari range of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the trek route to Nilkanth Mahadev temple in Rishikesh.
The blaze that broke out in Gauhari range of the reserve on Thursday evening affected around 1.5 hectares of forest cover, Rajaji Reserve Director Saket Badola said on Friday.
The fire in Gauhari range of the reserve has been brought under control but fire fighting continues in an area spread over one hectare in the forest near Pundrasu along the trek route to the Nilkanth Mahadev temple, Badola said.
The forests in Barahat, Mukhem, Dunda and Dharasu ranges besides Varunavat hills in the border district of Uttarkashi are also ablaze, Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said.
Forest guards, Quick Response Teams, NDRF, SDRF, police and fire brigade personnel are busy dousing the flames in Uttarkashi district, he said.
After nearly a fortnight-long lull which saw a substantial decline in forest fire incidents, wildfires flared up on Thursday with fire incidents in 11 areas affecting more than 13 hectares of forest land across the state, additional chief conservator of forest Nishant Verma said.
There have been 1,167 forest fire incidents this season in which nearly 1600 hectares of land have been affected, he said.
Forest fires in Uttarakhand have so far claimed six lives and left five persons injured, Verma said.
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Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee holds roadshow in south Kolkata to end campaign
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee undertook a roadshow in south Kolkata spanning over six kilometres on Monday afternoon at the fag end of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly election.
The TMC chief was accompanied by party Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose and candidates Aroop Biswas and Debasish Kumar from Tollygunge and Rashbehari, respectively.
People waiting on the roadside and on rooftops and balconies waved at Banerjee as she greeted them with folded hands, walking briskly, as her party compatriots had a tough time keeping pace with her.
The chief minister is contesting from the Bhabanipur assembly seat, where she is pitted against her bete noire, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who defeated her in the 2021 elections in Nandigram.
Banerjee was subsequently elected from Bhabanipur in a byelection.
The roadshow started at Sukanta Setu in the Jadavpur area and culminated at Gopalnagar crossing, past her Kalighat residence, with two small stopovers in between.
TMC flags, festoons, cutouts of Banerjee and banners with slogans in favour of the candidates adorned the roadsides through which the road show passed and culminated at around 5.30 pm.
A large number of TMC supporters participated in the roadshow that Banerjee conducted to end her campaign for the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal.
