Fire in Mahabharat forest of Kavre still out of control

Kavrepalanchowk, Jan 23: The fire that broke out at the Mahabharat Community Forest in the southern part of Kavrepalanchowk is yet to be brought under control. The fire started in the community forest at Thamlekh Danda of Khanikhola rural municipality-1 since the afternoon on Tuesday.    

Chief District Officer (CDO) Umesh Kumar Dhakal said teams of the Nepali Army and the police were mobilized towards the area on Wednesday evening and they are making efforts to douse the fire in coordination with the locals.    

According to CDO Dhakal, the security personnel have been urged to monitor the area under fire and the human settlements and to take the required initiatives to prevent the inferno from spreading towards the settlements. They have also been instructed to evacuate and relocate the people in case of possibility of damage.    

He added that additional human resources along with the essential fire control logistics would be mobilized in the coordination with other stakeholder bodies.    

The Division Forest Office Dhulikhel stated that the fire broke out at 2 pm on Tuesday. Head of the Forest Office Krishna Bahadur Thapa said a team has been dispatched to the site to monitor the situation for bringing the fire under control.    

Thapa said a joint meeting of the District Administration Office and the district-based security bodies is scheduled to be held today to intensify efforts to douse the forest fire.    
The District Police Office Dhulikhel said the fire is still raging in the community forest.    

It is said that the human settlement is around three kilometres away from the disaster site. Police said no casualties have been reported from the incident so far. (RSS)