Govt asked to lift ban on timber transportation

CHITRAL: Residents of Kalash valley of Rumbur have demanded of the provincial government to lift ban on transportation of wood harvested from their forest to the timber depot at Chakdara. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the office-bearers of the local joint forest management committee (JFMC), Mohammad Yaqub, Saifullah Jan, Shahzada Khan, Jamati Khan and Ubaidullah said that the move of the government was uncalled for. They said that any delay in transportation of timber to the market could cause a loss of millions of rupees to the local people as well as the government. The Kalash elders said that timber had been picked from the jungle as marked by the forest department and forest development corporation as these trees were either wind fallen or had completed their age and their harvesting was inevitable.They said that the Rumbur people were the worst affected by the move as the royalty accrued from the timber harvested from their area was the main source of their income as no farming was possible due to scarcity of arable land. The elders said the ban was imposed at a time when the forest department had issued transportation permit. They said that any delay in transportation would decompose the timber and reduce its value.]]>