Forest fire in Sherani brought under control: Bizenjo

News Desk

QUETTA: The Sherani forest that has been raging for two weeks in the chilgoza (pine nuts) trees in Balochistan has been completely brought under control, informed Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo in Quetta on Tuesday.

In a statement, he commended the tireless efforts made by the Forest Department, Pak Army, Frontier Corps, PDMA, and local people to extinguish the fire.

The chief minister also thanked the Iranian government for providing a firefighter aircraft which played an important role in extinguishing the fire.

CM Bizenjo said that relief and rehabilitation of fire victims will be ensured at all costs. He added that steps will be taken for the rehabilitation of the affected forest while conservation of forests and wildlife will also be ensured.

Firefighters from the provincial and national disaster management authorities have for days tried to quench the flames, using rescue vehicles and firefighting equipment, with little success. The Pakistan Army has established a base camp in the area and provided two helicopters to assist the firefighting operation.

Paramilitary forces like the Frontier Corps and Levies have also been participating in relief and rescue operations.

On Monday, Iran announced it was sending a plane for the firefighting mission, the Ilyushin Il-76 air tanker that has previously been used to control forest fires in Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey, and can launch up to 40 tonnes of water in the air.

“The fire has completely under controlled now and the rescue workers and volunteers are on the ground to find the minor ashes and are splashing water on them as well,” the deputy commissioner of the affected district of Sherani, Ejaz Ahmed, said, adding the Ilyushin Il-76 air tanker had splashed water thrice on burning trees on Tuesday, which had been effective in putting out the flames.

Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index compiled by environmental NGO Germanwatch. Temperatures have peaked at 51 degrees Celsius in parts of Pakistan in recent days, leaving the poor and vulnerable struggling to beat the heat in the impoverished country.