Meeting dwells on forest fire prevention, mitigation

A joint coordination meeting-cum-workshop on “Forest fire prevention and mitigation’” was convened yesterday by the 14th battalion, Natural Disaster Response Force (NDRF), on its office premises at Jassur near here in collaboration with the Forest Department, Nurpur.

Such a meeting was organised for the first time which witnessed physical presence of 50 officials and staff members from both the departments. Apart from this, around 200 personnel from Regional Response Centres and temporary locations of the 14th battalion, NDRF, from Slappar, Nalagarh and Rampur attended this meeting through virtual mode.

The session began with a brief presentation by the Forest Department on its preparedness and mitigation strategies for combating forest fires. It was followed by an insight discussion on the role of the NDRF personnel in the forest fire prevention and control.

During the workshop, the ways and necessity to enhance coordination between both agencies in addressing the burgeoning threat of forest fires amid climate change and rising temperature were also discussed. The Forest Department demonstrated its advanced equipment inventory which included drones, fire beaters, rakes, fire-resistant suits (clothing), axes and other new firefighting tools at the workshop. The NDRF and Forest Department explored possibilities of resource sharing and joint firefighting operations. The meeting was a significant initiative for building a stronger synergy and collaborative framework between the Forest Department and the NDRF to ensure effective forest fire management in the future.

Firefighting experts shared valuable insights offering strategic and technical inputs on the occasion. In the joint coordination meeting, Basu Kaushal, Forest Conservator, Dharamshala, Amit Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nurpur, Rahul Sharma, DFO headquarters, Nishant Prashar, Assistant Conservator Forest (ACF), Nurpur, range officers and field personnel of Forest Department, Commandant Rajneesh Sharma, Deputy Commandant and Assistant Commandants and other personnel of the 14th battalion, NDRF, were present at the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Dr GS Goraya, retired principal chief conservator of forest, as a special expert invitee.

Himachal Tribune