No active fire was reported in Dzükou Valley on Friday but, Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters will carry out sorties on Saturday too to monitor and douse any visible fire or smoke in the area.
According to DIPR report, during a review meeting held in Kohima on Friday under the chairmanship of deputy commissioner (DC) and Kohima District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chairman Mohammed, the superintendent of police (SP) Kohima Manoj Kumar said, as per the report of ground operation team camped at Dzükou base camp, no active fire or smoke was visible from the camp site till 8:30 am.
However, after a few hours, some smoke was noticed at three different locations, though no fire was seen. Accordingly, teams were mobilised and the fire was doused physically at two locations. Of course, due to distance factor, coupled with rough terrain and unavailability of tracks, the team could not reach the third location on the extreme ridge. The team would assess the situation and carry out the operation, the SP assured.
Participating in the meeting, OSD Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) Johny Rongmei said IAF would continue with its operations on Saturday to monitor any visible signs of fire or smoke and douse them, if detected. DFO Kohima, Raj Kumar informed the meeting that as per National Remote Sensing Agency, no active fire was detected by satellite on Thursday and Friday.
Reiterating the order banning burning of jungles issued by him, the DC reminded the area administrative officers to strictly implement the order in their respective areas. The meeting was attended by ADC Lithrongla Tongpi Rutsa and other DDMA officials.