Hemant Dhakal now finds it difficult to see the flock of birds that come to roost in the evening at Bar-Peepal Chautari in Gharainir. He is worried since Pokhara-14 Shubmarg tol's roads are not paved. "Chinchichani Bar, Peepal and Sami trees have been cut down at the time when the birds are making nests and starting the breeding process," says Dhakal, a conservationist, "This is affecting the environment."

In Shubhamarg tol, on the 5th of January, nearly a hundred years old bar-peel square was cut . 7 trees of five stars have been planted in this tol . One old peepal tree and another new peepal tree in Bhotechoutara of the ward have been cut . In Deurali of Radhakrishna tol, a 100-year-old peepal tree has also been cut down. In this way, Chautara Muthara has also been established in Lakeside area and Ward No. 13 of Pokhara.

Manav Seva Foundation, Nepal is organizing Kotihome Virat Mahayagya in Pokhara from May 17 to May 26. Bar, peepal, sammi, champ, mango etc. trees have been cut down for the firewood required for making Havan. The foundation has been given permission by the local village development organization to cut such trees. But the foundation has not taken permission from anywhere to cut trees in this way except for the verbal permission of Toll Development Organization.

Even though the dried branches can cause accidents, he said that they are being cut randomly as they have to be cut only with permission from the metropolis. After cutting the bar-peel of Chautara, he suggested to the members of Shubhamarg Toll Development Organization that Chautara should not be cut and even if Hagambiga is cut, it should be cut only after completing the scientific and legal process. "Dry, dangerous branches were cut so that they would only need to be cut and the chances of regrowth were low," he said President Tara Tiwari asked Bodh Bahadur Karki, the ward president of Pokhara-14, to stop cutting trees. On January 6, he went to the ward office and asked the ward president to stop the cutting of trees, but the cutting of the square did not stop. He also informed Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality chief Dhanraj Acharya about the tree cutting. However, Chautara mas work did not stop . By that time, 4 trees had already been cut .

After he started cutting the trees in front of his house, he went to the office of the Metropolitan Corporation on January 11 and informed the Deputy Chief Manjudevi Gurung. Deputy Chief Gurung instructed Ward President Karki to stop cutting trees. But the cutting of trees has not stopped yet. He also reported to the Division Forest Office, Ministry of Forest and Environment of Kaski and Gandaki Provinces. The Division Forest Office wrote a letter to the Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality office on January 9 and requested information regarding the destruction of Chautara.

It has been requested in the letter to request information on whether or not the metropolitan city has given permission to cut the trees of Chautara, the process by which the trees were cut, and to take necessary action if it is against the law.

On January 12th, Metropolitan Police arrived and after cutting down half of the square of Shubhamarg village, they stopped the cutting of trees . The local Mero Nepal Youth Club has submitted a petition to the ward office on January 13, demanding action against those involved in the illegal cutting of Chautara trees. Currently, although the cutting of branches has stopped in Pokhara-14, the foundation is cutting the branches of the branches of the branches of ward number 13.

Dhakal, who is also a zoology professor at Prithvi Narayan Campus, has kept a record of the birds found in his ward. More than 490 species of birds have been recorded in Pokhara. The study he conducted in his ward from 2014 to 2023 showed that 167 species of birds can be found. Among them, 9 endangered species of birds have been recorded in the area. According to him, birds start making nests after spring. They start making a couple . The process of reproduction begins . After the branches are cut, the insects, grasshoppers, and fruits found there will perish . As a result, the bird also lacks food. The habitat of birds like owls and coots, which live in holes in trees, is also destroyed. Birds such as Bakulla, Dangre, Crow, Chil, etc., which live in the evening, are also directly affected .

"Birds lived in all these cut squares," he says, "it seems that the agricultural production will be directly affected when the breeding process is stopped." His ward has a lot of arable land. These birds maintain the balance of insects, grasshoppers, and rats in agriculture.

The office of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality issued a public notice on Saturday and said that it will identify those involved in unauthorized tree felling and proceed with the necessary procedures according to the prevailing law .

'Complaints and proofs have been received that hundreds of years old public square trees have been arbitrarily cut down in the name of Kotihomes within the Pokhara Metropolitan City area,' the notice says, 'This kind of unauthorized tree cutting is punishable by law, and those involved in tree cutting are warned. Some people are informed that strict action will be taken according to the prevailing law. Trees and plants in public places cannot be cut and sold without permission It has been informed in the notification that the details of the trees are being collected.

Acharya, head of the metropolis, has said that the Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality and the local administration have not granted permission to anyone to organize a cottage home. He said that the matter of brutally cutting hundreds of years old Bar, Peepal and Sami trees in Pokhara's public squares and other places is serious and is also harmful to the environmental balance. "Machhapuchhre Himal is becoming black and the temperature is increasing day by day," he said is .

Bar, People, Sami and Chowtaro Conservation Act, 2075 has entrusted the responsibility of Chowtaro conservation and the process to be completed to the local level. The Forestry Act and Regulations also provide for the removal of dangerous trees from public places. In the said Act, it is mentioned that pruning should be done only after permission is given by the committee under the coordination of Divisional Forest Officer . Komalraj Kafle, Divisional Forest Officer of Division Forest Office, Kaski, says that while cutting Bar, Peepal and Sami trees, the Chautaro Protection Act of the state is applicable.

However, even after the law was passed, the office continued the process of taking action against those who cut trees and peals in accordance with the Forest Act, and it was seen that the metropolis took action according to its financial law when Ashok trees were cut in Pokhara's New Road. "It seems that the law is unclear as to whose jurisdiction it is," he says. The Ministry of Forestry has an understanding that the protection of chautaro falls within the jurisdiction of the municipality. Photo: Kantipur

Regarding the cutting of Chautara in Pokhara, he says that the Metropolitan Corporation should take action according to the prevailing law, if the Metropolitan does not file a case, it should be sent to the Division Forest Office.

_{The executive meeting held on Sunday of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality has decided to confiscate the wood cut by the Human Services Foundation for the operation of Kotihome. According to Metropolitan Municipality Spokesperson Motilal Timsina, it has been decided to confiscate the wood of Bar, Peepal, Sami cut in the name of Kotihome. He said that there was no decision regarding the action as it was not approved by the metropolis. "As the matter of uprooting of trees has been brought to the attention of the forest office, action will be taken according to the prevailing law, the metropolis has not taken any decision in this regard," he said. The foundation has taken the cut trees to the land of Nepal Trust at Lakeside and stored them.}

In section 7 of the Chautaro Conservation Act, there is a provision to be made only on the basis of the recommendations of the Study and Recommendation Committee before cutting, crushing or removing the Chautaro, Peepal, Sami and Chautaro . The law provides that the divisional forest officer or representative, the ward president or member of the respective ward, the chief member of the relevant project and the chief administrative officer of the local level will be the member secretary in the committee which is chaired by the head or chairman of the local level or the ward head appointed by him. Bar, People, Sami and Chautaro Conservation Committees, Conservation Funds have also been envisaged by the Act.

The same foundation that had previously performed the Mahayagna in Pashupati is going to set up a Kotihome at the lakeside of Pokhara . Bishnuraj Giri, manager of the foundation, said that the collection for Kotihome will be from around Pokhara. He said that the tree was cut in coordination with the local village development organization. "We only cut what the toll development organization says to cut," he said He said that he collected firewood by helping the organization with 70,000 rupees to build the Kiriyaputri building.