Nagaland's forest fire contained, say officials

Kohima, Dec 15 (PTI) The forest fire in the Western Dzukou area in Nagaland's Kohima district has been contained, officials said on Monday.

There were concerns that the blaze, which broke out on Friday in the western range of the valley, would spread further due to windy conditions and the difficult terrain, which was affecting the firefighting operations, they said.

The fire was first spotted by a tourist guide, who alerted the Khonoma village and the district administration, they added.

According to the latest report, smoke was seen emanating from between burnt bushes, but no active flames were seen, officials said.

The smoke is also under control, with Khonoma Youth volunteers, SDRF and Forest Department personnel camping near the site, they said.

An Indian Air Force helicopter has also been deployed in a firefighting operation. Using Bambi buckets, it is trying to suppress residual smoke and prevent flare-ups, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, Western Dzukou has been temporarily closed to the public for trekking, they said.

An official said that while the IAF personnel, flown in from West Bengal's Kharagpur, youth volunteers and SDRF personnel were confident that the fire had been contained, it was decided that a team would trek to the site on Tuesday to verify the ground situation.

Kohima's Deputy Commissioner B Henok Buchem, who met the firefighters at the Khonoma village during the day, lauded their efforts to douse the blaze.

He also conducted an aerial survey of the spot along with NSDMA and NRE Advisor Z Nyusietho Nyuthe. PTI NBS NBS SOM