Expressing concern over fire incidents in Dzukou Valley, Nagaland MLA Naiba Konyak has stressed on taking preventive measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Replying to a starred question raised by Konyak in the State Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio stated that no person responsible for such incidents has been identified or apprehended so far. On the total expenditure incurred on hiring Army helicopters to extinguish forest fires from 2023 till date, Rio said the bills for the last hiring of IAF choppers are yet to be received.
Rio further informed that the department has undertaken several measures to prevent forest fires at Dzukou Valley. These include training of community volunteers from Western and Southern Angami areas in collaboration with the Angami Youth Organization (AYO) at Khonoma from March 3 to 9, 2025. He added that the department will also take up establishment of watch towers for improved early detection of fires in high-risk zones, procurement of firefighting equipment such as beaters, drones and water backpacks, creation and maintenance of fire lines, training of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), installation of early warning systems including SMS alerts and sirens, and deployment of drone surveillance for monitoring inaccessible areas.
