Awareness campaign of Division Forest Office for control
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At midnight on June 4, the police seized 30 cubic feet of wood in a tractor numbered Lu 4 and 5738. The police patrol team deployed from Rampur Municipality-10 Gejha Chiuribazar in Kaligandaki Corridor road section, loaded on a tractor trolley and brought in without permission, recovered nine pellets of forest harvest year wood.
The police seized the wood and the tractor and handed it over to Sub-Division Forest Office Rampur Palpa for necessary action and further investigation along with the tractor driver.
In the middle of the night on 2nd of June, sal wooden pellets were recovered along with a tractor on the unpaved inner road of Kaligandaki Corridor road section of Bhujat located in Rampur Municipality-8. The police patrol team deployed from the area police office, while searching the tractor with trolley No. Lu 4 and 7700 for suspicion, seized 21 wood pellets of the year without a license. 39.98 cubic feet of illegally brought sal wood and drivers were handed over to Sub-Division Forest Office Rampur Palpa for necessary action and further investigation.
These are just a few examples of wood theft in the Rampur Municipality area. Earlier, on May 23, the area police office and Hongi police station seized 212 pills of Khair variety while illegally transporting them. Khair pills worth one lakh eighty five thousand were seized in Rampur municipality-10, Jhammakhola Bagar. On the 29th of June, 154 pellets of Khair wood were seized at Hugdi Khola Ghat. According to the local police office, the price of 172.95 cubic feet of khair is one hundred and seventy-two thousand. Khair was found illegally felled and abandoned. The wood has been recovered and handed over to Sub-Division Forest Office Rampur Palpa for necessary action and further investigation.
A case has been filed against Sitaram Devkota of Rampur Municipality-6, who has spread forest products without permission in Rampur Municipality area. Division Forest Office Palpa has informed that the case has been taken forward with the 70-year-old Golia and the tractor. Devkota has been fined Rs 2 lakh and Bigo Rs 1 lakh 10 thousand 718. Senior Forest Officer Meghnath Kafle informed that the case was filed with a demand of 10,000 and 1,000 as bail for the vehicle. Rampur, Gejha, Gandakot, Bankamlang areas were also found to be transporting illegal wood in previous years.
Local consumers said that more illegal wood can be recovered if the police surveillance is increased and the forest staff is active. There are wood businessmen who have access to political parties, and furniture businessmen have also been found selling them. There is also a problem here that some people use tractors but the main owner is not arrested. In Nisdi's Mityal, Jamire, Galdha areas, the illegal transportation of sal wood is also widespread. In recent times, illegal transportation of wood of Sisau, Khair species has been taking place in the corridor road area of Kaligand . Locals complain that illegal wood has been legalized and distributed.
In Rambha rural municipality-1, Hungi Amiltar community forest under Kaligandaki corridor, wood of Khar species has been recovered illegally cut . "There has been an increase in illegal traffic in the corridor road area of Kaligand and various places in Rampur Municipality, Rambha," said Narayandev Bhattarai, head of the Division Forest Office, "Therefore, the police and forest staff have been asked to increase vigilance in this area."
Awareness to control theft and smuggling
The Division Forest Office has interacted with the people's representatives and local residents of Rampur Municipality area after the increase in illegal transportation of forest products. In coordination with Sub-Division Forest Office Rampur, people's representatives of Ward No. 7, 8 and 10 of Rampur Municipality, timber traders, timber merchants, local community forest consumer group officials were informed about illegal transportation and the punishments resulting from it.
Senior Divisional Forest Officer Narayandev Bhattarai informed about the Forest Act, laws, crimes and punishments. He informed about the use of forest, the legal complications seen in it and how it can be simplified in the future. The head of the district coordination committee said that forest laws, rules, interactions between users and awareness programs can prevent theft and extraction in the future. He said that the discussions held between public representatives and businessmen should reduce the amount of stolen goods in the coming days.
Ram Bahadur Nepali, head of local police office, Rampur, said that wood is stolen and smuggled at night. He said that the consumer committee as well as the businessmen should be alerted as illegal traffic is being spread without legal awareness or understanding. "It is necessary to make traders and businessmen aware of theft, extraction, punishment, laws and regulations," he said, "local community forest user groups should also be made aware."
Meghnath Kafle, Chief and Senior Forest Officer of Sub-Divisional Forest Office Rampur, said that the recent incidents of theft and smuggling in Rampur area have sent a negative message to all forest employees and police. "Therefore, there is a need to minimize such incidents by interacting on this issue," he said. Devraj Tiwari, Ward President of Rampur Municipality-7, Dinesh Aryal, Ward President of 8, and other local residents said that due to the awareness program about forest law, rules, crime punishment, theft and smuggling, there will be a reduction in theft, extraction, and illegal transportation in the future.
