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| Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059. |
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Timber
smuggling rampant in Syangja
Post Report
PALPA, Oct 19:A lack of
awareness among the people and the unsystematic way of settlement in the jungles of
Syangja district has led to a rise in timber smuggling in the Lamdada and Bhaisepani VDCs.
Till two years back,
the forest was thick with Sal trees but now it is gradually becoming bare, according to
locals.
Though the forest has
been protected by the locals under the proposed community forest, it is observed that the
smuggling racket is going on unchecked as the forest has not been completely handed over
to the locals for supervision.
The villagers around
the Sal forest region collect fodder, wood, and are involved in making charcoal that is
necessary for making of metal utensils.
One of the locals said,
that though a committee was formed for the protection of the forest, due to lack of proper
care-taking, timber smuggling is on the rise.
The local educated
people see the need to train the illiterate locals about the importance of the forests to
human beings, the consequences that the deforestation can bring to the environment, and
the duty of community people in the proper management and the protection of the forests.
Those living at the
roadside said that since the people of that village are not directly involved with the
protection and supervision, in the cover of the night timber is smuggled away in tractors.
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