Sariska Tiger Reserve fire under control, says Rajasthan CM

Five days after it erupted, the blaze in the forests of the famous Sariska Tiger Reserve, located in Rajasthan's Alwar, was finally controlled on Thursday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said.

The fire-fighting operations by the Indian Air Force helicopters have also been stopped.

Gehlot, in a tweet, said: "Have spoken to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on phone yesterday regarding the fire in Sariska forest. I had assured him that the fire would be brought under control by evening or tomorrow morning.

"The administration has largely controlled the Sariska fire and now there is little fire left in a limited area which will also be extinguished soon. This is a mountainous area where it is difficult to send fire brigade, but the fire has been brought under control with the use of helicopters. More than 400 forest workers and villagers are continuously cooperating in this work."

The fire broke out in the Akbarpur range of Sariska Tiger Reserve on March 27 in the afternoon. It was controlled but flared up again due to the night winds.

This new blaze could not be brought under control quickly and it was spread over an area of 8 to 10 km. During this too, the Forest Department had made efforts to control the fire at its own level. But things didn't work out and the fire spread.

Later, the help of the IAF was sought to control the fire. Two days ago, on Tuesday, two helicopters of the Air Force were sent to help douse the blaze.

As the fire has spread in a radius in an area of about 20 km, the operation was intensified. On Wednesday afternoon, the fire slowly started to subside, and the SDRF personnel were called in too.