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Tree felling has been rampant of late in the jungle between Inaruwa and Itahari along the East-West Highway in Sunsari district. According to locals, the authorities have failed to pay attention despite rampant tree felling in the jungle along the highway.
Local Sureshchandra Lawar said a general agreement has been reached among the locals on cutting down the trees and that they were trying to expand the road. “Even the government authorities know about this decision,” he said. But others said timber smugglers were involved in felling a tree of a “chautari”, a resting place, in Baliya Chowk.
“We have lost a resting place now,” said a local shopkeeper. Janak Padhya, chief of the Sector Forest Office in Salakpur, said “When we reached Baliya, the tree had already been cut down. It was done without our permission.”Padhya added that locals were felling trees illegally. Some trees that were recently cut down in Sundar Dulari Municipality were nearly 80 years old. Locals said timber worth millions of rupees has been smuggled from Dulari Chowk and Baliya Chowk. Timber smuggling is rampant in these areas, they said.
Meanwhile, Ramchandra Raut, chief of the Eastern Road Division Office, said no one is allowed to fell trees in the highway area. “We have mobilised engineers to investigate into the matter,” said Raut, adding that they are yet to identity people involved in felling trees.
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