The historic Salleri National Forest is now becoming a source of danger for local residents and travelers. The 150-year-old pine trees in the forest of Kachide, Dhankuta Municipality-6, are prone to falling down with their roots during winter due to storms and fires, and during the rainy season.

Yogendra Prasad Dahal, who has been working as a priest at the Saraswati Temple in this forest, has been performing daily pujas for 55 years. However, he says that there is always a fear of falling trees. Since he has to come and go for pujas in the morning and evening, he says that the old trees are a risk of accidents. 'Many old trees have become like a log, and there is a fear that they will break and be uprooted even with a slight wind,' he said.

Local Purushottam Pokharel also goes to Salleri forest to walk regularly for health. But he says, 'I am always afraid when I come and go. When there is a storm, I cannot walk. Many trees have fallen, it would have been a big accident if people had fallen.'

The storm that struck on the night of Chaitra 20 had uprooted more than 150 large trees in the Salleri forest. Some of the trees were uprooted and fell, damaging public structures including the Nepal Army's Bhim Dal Battalion, the District Ayurveda Dispensary, and the Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers' Committee. Fortunately, there was no human loss at that time.

About one kilometer of the Dhankuta-Hile section of the Koshi Highway falls within this forest. In addition, the local road to Kachide, Schooldanda, Pangsing and Atmara also passes through this forest. Therefore, hundreds of daily commuters and local residents are always forced to travel at great risk.

According to Jyotiram Pokharel, a nursery entrepreneur and professor from Kachide, there are different risks in every season. 'In winter, there is a fear of storms and fires, and in the rainy season, there is a risk of trees falling down with their roots. If not managed in time, a big accident can occur,' he said.

The Division Forest Office, Dhankuta, has implemented a 40-year regeneration action plan for the conservation and management of this forest. A policy of cutting down old trees and planting new trees has been adopted in the forest spread over an area of ​​about 850 ropanis. According to Anjana Puri, Information Officer of the Division Forest Office, the plan has been taken forward with the aim of protecting the forest and reducing human risk. Priority has been given to the safety of citizens.

However, locals say that the current policy of cutting down only a limited number of trees will not reduce the immediate risk. 'Where there is a lot of human traffic, such risky trees should be removed immediately,' suggests Jyotiram Pokharel.