KATHMANDU: Smugglers living near Parsa District Forest Office, calling themselves squatters, have cut down the trees and constructed permanent houses encroaching the forest area, reported the concerned authorities.

According to the District Forest Officer Chandradev Lal Karna, the smugglers have also deforested the jungle area and turned it into a cultivable land.

Similarly, the smugglers have also installed electricity poles and supplied the electricity to their respective houses without the permission of Nepal Electricity Authority and Forest Office, said the locals.

They have also constructed a school, supplied water services in the encroached land using the government donations and started cultivating in the land, according to an official in the Area Forest Office in Solakhpur.

The concerned authorities, however, are yet to take action against them.