Shimla, June 3 (IANS): With forest fires in Himachal Pradesh destroying 12,718 hectares, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Monday expressed concern and directed the Forest Department to make concerted efforts to address the issue.

He instructed them to initiate long-term measures along with immediate initiatives to curb the problem. He stressed the people’s participation in these efforts and said that the number of forest fire incidents is gradually decreasing.

The Chief Minister said 1,318 fire incidents have been recorded so far this year, affecting 12,718 hectares of land, including 2,789 hectares of plantation area, causing a preliminary financial loss of Rs 4.61 crore.

He said to mitigate these losses, the government is contemplating to form a dedicated battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) specially equipped and trained for firefighting to reduce the losses to the forest area.

He said 374 forest beats are highly sensitive to forest fires and called for strengthening the fire-tackling services in these areas.

The Chief Minister emphasised on diversifying the conifer plant regions with specific plant species of the area to help retain the moisture and reduce the number of fire incidents.

He also directed the Forest Department to conduct a study from the government agency to look into the causes of fire incidents and recommend necessary actions.