State officials inspect fire safety in forest bungalows post Hollong incident

Alipurduar: After the devastating fire incident on June 18 that completely destroyed the iconic Hollong Forest bungalow at Jaldapara National Park, a team of six top officials from the forest department started inspecting the fire safety arrangements and the conditions of all the forest bungalows, forest offices and staff quarters in the state as per a special order.

The team is headed by the State’s Chief Wildlife Warden, Debal Roy along with North Bengal Chief Forest Officer Bhaskar J V and other top forest officials present in the team.

On Thursday, the team first visited the Malangi Forest Bungalow of Jaldapara Forest Division. They thoroughly examined the infrastructure, fire safety arrangements, electrical wiring, and switchboards of the bungalow. Detailed descriptions were recorded whenever an issue was identified.

The special team will send a written proposal to Nabanna about the measures that should be taken to avoid future dangers, specially fires in forest bungalows, offices, and quarters. The group then moved to the Buxa Tiger Reserve, visiting Raidak, Hatipota, Shil Bungalow, and Jayanti Forest Bungalow along with the offices and wooden housing for forest staff. However, the foresters abstained from commenting on their observations.

According to the Forest department, the special team of foresters will continue to check the bungalows of the Forest Development Corporation and every forest bungalow in Gorumara, Jalpaiguri Forest Division, Baikunthapur, Mahananda, Neora Valley, Kurseong and Darjeeling Forest Division in the coming days. After completing the inspections, a detailed written report will be submitted to Nabanna. Subsequently, action will be taken as per the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

North Bengal chief Forester, Bhaskar JV said: “We are closely monitoring various forest bungalows, offices, and quarters. Special attention is being paid to fire safety arrangements, electrical wiring, and electronic components installed. After observing everything, the final report with our opinions will be submitted to the state government.”