India, April 23 -- The raging forest fires in Uttarakhand have already consumed over 2,800 hectares of irreplaceable verdant forests, mainly in the higher altitudes, and as many as eight people have lost their lives due to the wildfires. The loss of wildlife is yet to be ascertained, but has to be colossal as these calamitous fires started six months ago. However, thanks to the ongoing pandemic, national as well as State resources have been steadfastly focused on fighting the Coronavirus that seems to be becoming more unmanageable with each passing day.

The Uttarakhand forest department recorded 989 fires between October 2020 and April this year and, to make matters worse, the annual rainfall was scanty also. The period between January a...