Navy Choppers Survey Goa Wildlife Sanctuary Fire, Minister Orders Probe

Vishwajit Rane said that the Indian Air Force choppers can be used to put out the fires with permission from the Defense Ministry.

A Navy chopper uses a helibucket to fill up water to douse the fire.

New Delhi: The state government said on Wednesday that helicopters from the Indian Navy flew over the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa on Wednesday morning to determine the extent of forest fires that have been burning for the past five days.

State Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the fires in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity-rich region, appeared to be a "man-made incident."

He added that the Indian Air Force choppers can be used to put out the fires with permission from the Defense Ministry.

According to officials, teams from the state Forest Department and the Fire and Emergency Services have not yet been able to contain the fires, which are burning in a variety of locations.

According to minister Rane, navy choppers carried out seven to eight sorties on Wednesday. An aerial survey of the affected areas was conducted by him and senior Navy officials.

On Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant convened a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority to devise a strategy for controlling the fires.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Rane said, “We have taken aid from the Defence ministry for in-principle approval of additional helicopters. It appears prima facie to be a man-made incident. A detailed inquiry as per the discussion with the chief minister last night has been ordered.” “The people responsible for this will be taken to task and suspended. In addition, I have given stern instructions that anybody found entering the wildlife sanctuary or putting a fire will be arrested under the Forest Act,” he said in another tweet.

Rane told reporters in Panaji that his department will restrict people's access to forest areas in light of the recent string of fires in the Mhadei sanctuary.

He added that the Forest Act will be utilised to take action against those who engage in mischief within the sanctuary.

Chief minister Sawant had said on Tuesday after the meeting of the Disaster Management Authority that there was a possibility that some people started the fire as part of the cultivation of cashew plantations inside the sanctuary.

Sawant had added, "If any forest guard is found to have failed in his duty, he would be suspended immediately."