RAUTAHAT: District Forest Office, Rautahat has started tree plantation campaign after vacating the encroached human settlements in different forest areas of the district. District Forest Officer Bhagawan Gupta said that the first phase of the campaign had begun from Monday under the leaderships of Rautahat Chief District Officer Madan Bhujel in Kothiyar forest of Rangapur VDC. The DFO plans to plant trees in 177 hectare land this fiscal. Production of tree saplings is also said to be under way in six nurseries at Gaur, Jungelsahiya, Chetnagar, Laukaha and Belari among other places of the district. As per DFO’s plans, 1,760 saplings per hectare will be planted. Assistant DFO Ram Kishwor Yadav informed that 2,874 hectare land had been encroached during the insurgency period. “The encroached lands will be vacated gradually to begin plantation work,” he added.

Ground swept away

KHOTANG: The recent flood has swept away a playground before its inauguration at Durchhim VDC in Khotang. Due to four days of incessant rainfall, the playground, which was completed on May 30, was swept away by the flood. Chairman of the Playground Consumer Committee Kamal Chamling said they had constructed it with Rs 90,000 at the VDC. He informed that the VDC had offered Rs 50, 000 and remaining amount was collected through donations from different agencies. “We had called the playground Krishna Ram Rai Stadium,” Chamling said. He said a stadium would be reconstructed after the monsoon.