PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that a report on wildfires is submitted to the Central government for appropriate action in order to prevent and manage large-scale forest fires in the future.
While the CM refused to divulge details, government sources said that the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) was tasked with preparing a detailed report into the fire outbreak in the State’s forests and Mhadei wildlife sanctuary from March 5.
Meanwhile, Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane is scheduled to meet the union government officials to include Goa in the National Forest Fire Prevention and Management Plan. “I will soon have a meeting with the Government of India in Delhi. By doing this, we can enlist more agencies to help us manage circumstances where a significant amount of infrastructure is required,” Rane said.
A review meeting on wildfires in Goa on Tuesday discussed plans to include the State in the Plan being prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (MHA). The Forest Department was also advised to assess the areas affected by fires and take corrective measures at the earliest.
In a major relief, on the second day in a row, Goa did not report any fresh cases of fire even as the forest officials are keeping a close watch of locations of extinguished fires for any recurrence. “The entire team led by PCCF Rajiv Gupta and Saurabh Kumar did an outstanding job, and I also want to thank @Coll_NorthGoa and @Coll_SouthGoa, as well as fire services, for their assistance. We were able to accomplish this with the guidance of the CM, @DrPramodPSawant’s leadership,” Rane tweeted adding, “I would like to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi Ji, the Minister of @moefcc Shri @byadavbjp Ji, and @rajnathsingh Ji, on behalf of the people of the state of Goa, for all of their support.”
