State government could have prepared itself better, say environmentalists The video of Uttarakhand Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat, which shows him trying to douse a forest fire with a bush in Chamoli district on Monday, that spread like wildfire on social media put the spotlight on a major issue being faced by the hill State that boasts of around 70% forest cover. In the last 24 hours, according to official sources, 75 incidents of forest fire — 50 in forest reserves and 25 in civil or van panchayat areas — had been reported affecting 105.85 hectares of forest land. In what is being seen as an unprecedented April, 414 incidents affecting 645.3 hectares, have been reported in the first six days of the month. Rajiv Bhartari, Principal Conservator of Forests held the high fuel load and consistent dry weather responsible for the high number of fire incidents. “Incidents of forest fire usually happen in Uttarakhand between February and June. Last year, we had had very few inc...