Jammu, Apr 30 (PTI) Efforts are on to put off a major fire in the forest area of Thakrakote in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said on Saturday.

The fire in the compartment number 40 and 41 of Sailanjan forest area of Thakrakote broke out on April 26, causing huge loss to biodiversity and local communities which thrive on forests for their livelihood, the official said.

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Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Babila Rakwal chaired a meeting on Saturday and emphasized upon chalking out a foolproof strategy to douse the fire to minimize the loss to the forest flora and fauna.

She asked the concerned to supplement the efforts of forest fire fighters from the forest department who are working round-the-clock unbridledly to minimize the wrath unleashed by the fire in the area, the official said.

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Calling for setting up a surveillance team to patrol the area, Rakwal said any defaulter if found around the area, must be dealt strictly as per relevant provisions of the law.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)