Sisau, Khair, and Kanju trees have been felled in the forest, which is spread over an area of about 10 hectares. It is not yet clear who cut down so many trees in the forest and why.
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Hundreds of trees have been cut down in the Gaurighat Community Forest in Kaluwapur, Krishnapur Municipality-7, Kanchanpur within an hour and a half. Sisau, Khayar and Kanju trees have been felled in the forest spread over about 10 hectares. It is not yet clear who cut down so many trees in the forest and why.
The community forest, which is surrounded by gravel roads, has been in the process of cutting down trees since its establishment. Firewood was taken from the community forest, which was almost abandoned, for weddings, fasts, cremations, and forest feasts. On the afternoon of November 11, the forest was completely destroyed within an hour and a half. Some have cut down trees, while others have been left in the forest.
Earlier, when the ward office was built in the community forest area or the basic health post that is under construction, the office bearers of the consumer committee were not informed. The consumer committee itself is not seen to be interested in this. Locals say that the people's representatives have also not paid attention.
‘This forest has been like this since the past, one or two trees were cut down, whenever there was a need, everyone used to cut down and take away trees from this forest,’ said Rajendra Awasthi, secretary of the Gaurighat Community Forest Users Committee. ‘The committee had been inactive for two or three years, no meetings had been held, the forest was like a deserted forest.’ According to him, there is no information about who cut down and took away the trees.
Kumari Bohara, chairperson of the Community Forest Users Committee, also said that she had no information about the tree felling. She said that she had gone to Dhangadhi that morning and saw the forest being felled when she returned in the evening. ‘We don’t know who cut it down, why, we are also looking for people,’ Bohara said, ‘We have not found anything so far.’
Forest office employees and public representatives were oblivious when hundreds of trees were cut down from the community forest in the middle of the settlement in the middle of the day. The office of Ward No. 7 is within the community forest. Employees of the nearby Sub-Division Forest Office also say that they only came to know about the deforestation after it came to social media.
‘We have conducted field monitoring after the police also informed us,’ said Suresh Chandra DC, Chief of the Division Forest Office Kanchanpur, ‘It seems that there is collusion between the people’s representatives and everyone in the locality. Otherwise, why did the people’s representatives remain silent about the deforestation that took place near the ward office?’ He alleges that the deforestation was done to encroach on community forest land.
The Division Forest Office has designated Bharat Shah, Chief Forest Officer of the Sub-Division Forest Office Bani, as the investigation officer. Shah informed that work is underway, from counting the number of felled trees to recovering wood and taking statements from community forest officials. ‘Statements of the chairman and secretary of the community forest have been taken. Statements of others are also being taken,’ he said.
According to Shah, 135 trees of khayar ranging from 16 to 84 inches thick, 28 of sisau ranging from 24 to 64 inches thick and 1 of kanju have been cut down. 1155 cubic feet of khayar and 81.03 cubic feet of sisau have been recovered. Other timber is also being searched. 'It seems like a phenomenon of destroying community forest land more than timber, many things will be revealed through investigation,' Shah said, 'Even now, no one in the village has agreed to talk about deforestation, even the officials and members of the community forest have not spoken about it.'
In 2055, the locals themselves planted trees and grew a forest in Bagar on the banks of the Mohana River. From time to time, when there were attempts to encroach on the forest in the name of squatters and freed Kamaiya, the locals chased them away. The forest was registered in 2062 and handed over to the community. The first action plan for the community forest was prepared in the fiscal year 2075/076. The current committee has not held a single meeting or general assembly in 3 years. Locals say that the previous committee is also inactive.
Recently, preparations are underway to open a technical college in the area with an investment of about 1.5 billion rupees. Krishnapur Municipality has also studied and monitored this issue repeatedly. Forest workers say that the land mafia may have plotted to destroy the land by clearing the forest after seeing that the price of land will increase after the establishment of the technical college. Forestry workers often say that deforestation incidents occur during political transitions. They say that the land mafia may have seized a similar opportunity in the deforestation of Gaurighat.
