[Goa Forest Fire] 24X7 Control Room Established, Inquiry Ordered To Ascertain Cause: Centre

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued a press release reporting that a 24x7 control room for real time monitoring of forest fire spots in Goa has been established and an Inquiry is ordered to find out the reason for fire.

Since March 5, multiple occurrences of forest fire have been detected across several parts of Goa in areas such as forests, private areas, land revenue etc.

The Ministry said no major losses to flora and fauna are reported yet.

The status of the active incident and measures taken to contain the fire were also announced.

The following are some of the notable steps that have been taken so far by the Forest Department, Goa:

• 24x7 Control room for Real-time Monitoring of fire.
• Forest Area divided into sectors, DCF / ACF level officers made as incharge to monitor the fire situation.
• Unauthorised entries are banned, Strict Enforcement of Forest and Wildlife laws to prevent entry.
• Collectors are requested to activate Disaster Management Machinery.
• The public is being informed of preventive and control measures, in the form of Dos and Don'ts, to increase awareness about forest fires.
• The concerned DCFs have received instructions to thoroughly investigate every instance of fire that has taken place since March 5th, 2023.
• Aerial support from the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy are taken for forest fire management.