 |
Kathmandu Wednesday September 06, 2000 Bhadra 21, 2057.
|
Illegal huts demolished in Kailali
By a Post Reporter
DHANGADHI, Sept 5 - Police demolished Monday some 50
temporary huts that had encroached the lush forest in Kailali district, east of Attariya
market, a growing urban centre of the district following the completion of the East-West
Highway.
Encroachment of the rain forest started since the
construction of the country's trunk highway which connects the far-western region with the
rest of the Kingdom.
"After the encroachers defied repeated requests and
public notices, District Forest Office (DFO) was compelled to use police force to evacuate
them", Assistant DFO Dirgha Narayan Koirala said.
Koirala also claimed that most of the people who have
encroached the forest seem to be non-Nepali nationals and from eastern part of the
country.
Some of the alleged encroachers, however, claimed that they
have been living there for a long time. After the police demolished the huts from the
forest area, the encroachers piled up their possessions on the busy highway bringing
vehicular movement to a halt for sometime.
"With prospects of economic prosperity at Attariya,
people from all walks of life have built concrete buildings encroaching the invaluable
forest area," said Assistant DFO Koirala. Koirala also informed that some 4,000 huts
and sheds built illegally in the forest area have been demolished over the last year.
DFO claimed that the encroachers have occupied the forest
under political protection. "We cannot preserve the habitat of varieties of wildlife
without cooperation from all political parties in local and central level," said
Koirala.
Other Stories
|
