Engaged in firefighting operations in Uttarakhand, the forest department on Thursday asked people to help prevent forest fires by not cooking in the open and removing inflammable material dumped near their houses.
Issuing an appeal to this effect through the media, the department said it was making efforts to control forest fires in the state but requests the enlightened people of the state to make their own contribution to saving the environment by preventing forest fires. Forest fires in Uttarakhand have so far ravaged around 3,739 hectares of green cover, besides killing nine persons. The rescue operation is still on.