Timber smuggling rampant in Bara

Bara, May 23

Division Forest Office, Bara, has intensified activities to stop timber smuggling in the district amid the nationwide lockdown.

The office has seized illegal Saal timber from dozens of places through its sub-division offices during the lockdown.

A team deployed from the forest office yesterday seized 133 cubic feet timber from Tangiya settlement of Jitpursimara sub-metropolis.

Similarly, the team had also seized 326 cubic feet timber from Kohlbi Municipality a week ago. Division Office Chief Manjur Ahamad said 40 cubic feet timber was seized from the sub-metropolis some days ago.

The team has launched crackdown on timber smugglers after many cases of timber smuggling were reported in the district during the nationwide lockdown. Ahamad said they had taken control of a place where a large quantity of illegal timber was kept. He said they had also arrested people involved in the illegal activity. He informed that illegal timber was seized from different places and action had been taken against smugglers in Nijgadh, Kohlbi and Jitpursimara, among other local levels.

The forest patrol team comprises Nepal Police personnel, Armed Police Force personnel and Forest Management Committee representatives.

The seized timber has been kept in the sub-division forest office, area forest office and division offices.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 24, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.