Owing to the lack of government policy to control illegal export, timber smuggling is on the rise in Gorkha. Rampant felling of the trees has turned forests into bare lands.
Timber and firewood are being smuggled from Mirkot, Dhuwakot, Deurali, Gaikhur, Khoplang, Harmi, Aanppipal and Dandapakha forest areas to the adjoining districts. Ganesh Sedai, a local of Serabesi Mirakot, said that timber smugglers had been ferrying a large amount of timber and firewood. "The green forest hills have transformed into barren lands," lamented Sedai.
Amrit Nagarkoti, a local timber entrepreneur, said that smugglers had been exporting timber to Chitwan, Kathmandu and Pokhara. He cautioned if smuggling continued in the same scale, all the villages would turn into deserts.
Tap Bahadur Upreti, a local, however, said that he had to fell trees for his livelihood." I cannot live without firewood," asserted Upreti. He also said that illegal forest clearance would cease if Local Community Forest Consumers Committee formulated and implemented a strict rule against it.
District Forest Office and Community Consumers Committee have turned a blind eye to the problem. Krishna Prasad Wasti, DFO, Gorkha, conceded that his office could not prevent illegal export since there was no effective policy.
Source:http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Timber+smuggling+rampant&NewsID=242301
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