Forest guard dies in gorge fall after dousing forest fire

Uttarkashi: A forest beat officer died after he allegedly slipped from a hill path and fell into a gorge while returning home after helping douse a forest fire in Thadung beat of Tons forest division in Purola, officials said on Thursday.

Sohan Singh Rawat had been sent to control a forest fire in Thadung beat, where he worked with resin-tapping labourers from Resin Coup No 2 to bring the flames under control, on Wednesday evening.Officials said the fire in compartment number 04 of the beat was contained by evening, after which the workers returned to their camp around 7pm and Rawat also left for home. When Rawat did not reach home till late night, his family started searching for him and informed forest department.

A search operation was then launched by forest staff, relatives and villagers in the surrounding forest area. After hours of search, his body was found near Siroda ravine below Kandar.Officials suspect Rawat slipped on the hilly track while returning after the fire-control operation and fell into the gorge, dying on the spot. Late at night, a forest department team recovered the body and began taking it to sub-district hospital in Purola by ambulance, but after objections from villagers and family members, it was handed over to his brother Manoj Singh and former village head Prakash following the required inquest formalities.

Tons deputy conservator of forests D P Baluni visited Rawat’s village, met the family and assured them of all possible assistance from the department. “This is a deeply tragic incident. All officers and staff are shocked by the accident,” Baluni said, adding that the district magistrate and higher authorities had been informed.Forest officials said Rawat had died in the line of duty and departmental procedures for assistance to the family would be taken up. The incident also highlighted the risks faced by frontline forest personnel during the fire season, when teams often work in steep, remote terrain with limited visibility and difficult access after dark.