Uttarakhand: Four forest workers killed while extinguishing fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary
Dehradun, Jun 13: Four forest workers were killed and four were injured while extinguishing a fire at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary under the Civil Soyam Forest Division in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, officials said on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Binsar Range Forest 'Beat' Officer Trilok Singh Mehta, 'Fire Watcher' Karan Arya, Provincial Armed Constabulary Jawan Puran Singh and daily wage worker Diwan Ram, they said.
According to Civil Soyam Forest Divisional Officer Dhruv Singh Martolia, the incident occurred around 3.45 pm when eight forest workers were sent to extinguish a fire that had broken out at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Martolia said that as soon as the team got down from their vehicle, the fire escalated due to strong winds and four of the workers were charred to death. Meanwhile, the other workers were injured and rushed to Haldwani Base Hospital for treatment.
In a post on X, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "Very heartbreaking news has been received about the death of 4 forest workers due to forest fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. In this hour of grief, our government stands with the families of the deceased and is committed to provide all possible help. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh has been announced to the families of each deceased."
"In a high-level meeting with the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary and Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF), instructions were given to immediately control the forest fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary with the help of Air Force, by spraying water on the affected forest area using helicopters and other necessary resources as before and to control the fire as quickly as possible," he added.
Special Secretary to the Chief Minister, Shri Parag Madhukar Dhakate said that the situation is being monitored closely. The post-mortem of the deceased is being conducted.
Last month, a resin factory in Almora district was engulfed in forest fire and three workers trying to extinguish the fire were killed.
Due to hot and dry weather, forest fires have started raging again in Uttarakhand. According to the Uttarakhand forest fire bulletin, seven incidents were reported in the last 24 hours in which 4.50 hectares of forest were affected.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
