Dehradun, May 27 (PTI) Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Wednesday said old pictures of forest fires in Chile and China are being circulated on social media to claim that Uttarakhand forests are in flames.

He dismissed such social media photos as part of a "misleading propaganda", even as the state police threatened to take stern action against those responsible for spreading rumours about forest fires in Uttarakhand.

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"Old pictures of forest fires in 2016 and 2019 and those in Chile and China are being floated on the social media to spread a misleading propaganda about Uttarakhand. I request all not to believe in this deliberate propaganda. The number of forest fire incidents in the state this year are far lower than even last year," he tweeted.

The Head of Forest Force, Jairaj, also called such pictures misleading. Forest fire incidents this year have been fewer than last year and the situation was well within control, he said.

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Meanwhile, the DG, Law and Order, Ashok Kumar said stern action will be taken against those who had spread such a propaganda which is "far from truth".

(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)