The forests of Uttarakhand, Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh and Dzukuo Valley in Nagaland and Manipur were in the news on account of which one of the following reasons?
- (a)Deforestation
- (b)Forest fire
- (c)Poaching of wild animals
- (d)Illegal mining
Correct — B, Forest fire. The forests of Uttarakhand, the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh and the Dzukou Valley on the Nagaland–Manipur border were in the news because of major forest fires. The Dzukou Valley fire burned for over a week around December 2020–January 2021, while Uttarakhand and Himachal repeatedly reported large blazes during the dry season.
- (a)Deforestation — These places were reported for active blazes, not for tree felling or land clearance.
- (c)Poaching of wild animals — The news concerned burning vegetation, not the hunting of wildlife.
- (d)Illegal mining — Mining was not the issue; the common thread across all three sites was fire.
Forest fires are a recurring hazard in India's dry season (roughly March–June), driven by heat, dry biomass and sometimes human activity; the Himalayan and Northeastern hill forests are especially vulnerable. The Dzukou Valley, famous for its seasonal flowers, saw a prolonged fire over the 2020–21 winter.
All three sites were grouped in the news for the same reason. The unifying event was fire — the Dzukou blaze being the most widely reported — which rules out deforestation, poaching or mining.
- The Dzukou Valley fire (on the Nagaland–Manipur border) raged for over a week around December 2020–January 2021.
- Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh regularly report large forest fires in the dry pre-monsoon months.
- India's forest-fire season peaks roughly between March and June.
- The Forest Survey of India monitors fire-prone zones using satellite alerts.
- Picking deforestation or mining because they are common forest issues — here the shared news was fire.
Groups several forest locations and asks the common reason they were in the news — identify the shared event (fire).
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Dzukou Valley, in the news for a prolonged 2020–21 forest fire, lies on the border of which two states?
- (a)Assam and Meghalaya
- (b)Nagaland and Manipur
- (c)Mizoram and Tripura
- (d)Sikkim and West Bengal
Answer(b) Nagaland and Manipur — the valley straddles the two states' border.
- practice — not a real PYQ
India's forest-fire season is generally most severe during which months?
- (a)July–September
- (b)November–January
- (c)March–June
- (d)December–February
Answer(c) March–June — the hot, dry pre-monsoon period.