Nepal: Fire destroys 2,300 hectares forest

By APD writer Ishwar Dev Khanal

KATHMANDU, April 5 (APD) - With the onset of summer season, wild fires have destroyed more than 2,300 hectares of forest area across Nepal.

The Forest Department of Nepal said that the fire spread in some 106 forests of 13 hilly and Terai districts.

An official at the department said that instances of forest fires have increased due to recurring wind storms in this season. Likewise, an elderly Mohan Thapa, 69, was killed in the fire in Tanahun district, west of Kathmandu.

However, the forest fires have been taken under control with the help of forest office employees, locals, Nepal Police and Nepal Army. Officials said incidents of such fires have been reported in other districts but the official information on the damages has yet to be ascertained.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)