The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Uttarakhand government that rain gods or cloud-seeding would not douse the forest fires that had claimed five lives in the State.
“Cloud-seeding or depending on rain gods is not the answer. You (Uttarakhand government) have to take preventive measures,” Justice Sandeep Mehta, who is part of the two-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, told counsel appearing for Uttarakhand.
The State downplayed the forest blaze in court, assuring that the emergency was over. The State said only “0.1% of the wildlife cover” was on fire though reports claimed that over 40% of forests in the Kumaon region of the State was burning.
