Anantnag: South Kashmir is rich in natural forests and although the Forest Department continues its operations against jungle smugglers, the people living near the forests are engaged in illegal felling of trees.
Extensive forest cover is found in all the four districts of South Kashmir and the forests are much safer than in North and Central Kashmir. The forest department claims it has largely curbed forest smuggling and is continuing operations against forest smugglers.
However, people living near forests have been found to be more harmful to the green gold mines than forest smugglers. When ETV correspondent visited the Willow Range in Kokranag, he found that people living near the forests cut down trees in broad daylight, which clearly shows the negligence of the authorities.
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ETV has learned from sources that people living near forests are hollowing out tree trunks that are hundreds of years old. As a result, ancient and precious trees fall down after a while. Sources said that these people cut the trunks of the trees from all sides and burn them due to which these trees, worth lakhs of rupees, become weak and hollow inside and fall on their own, which these people later use for themselves. As a result, lush and hundreds of years old trees are slowly disappearing.
Experts say that pine and other types of trees take one hundred to one hundred and fifty years to grow fully.
"If we do not protect these trees, the day is not far when our future generations will curse us because we have failed to protect these beautiful, lush and precious forests," they said.
Civil society groups have called on the forest department officials to take action against forest smugglers as well as those involved in such deforestation.
When ETV Bharat correspondent brought the matter to the notice of DFO Anantnag Feroz Ahmed Chakat, he said that he would contact his control room and take action against the culprits.
