JAMMU: Militancy has been posing a grave threat t6 the ecological balance and forest wealth: of Kashmir owing to indiscriminate felling of trees by subversives in Nexus with timber smugglers in several parts of the state over the past four years Official estimates say the damage caused to the forests so far runs info several thousand millions.
Notwithstanding massive losses caused to the state’s forest wealth the ecological experts are more concerned about the irreparable damage which the state’s environmental balance would suffer due to denudation of forests. Some of these experts believe that if this trend was not checked the valley in years to come would face acute water shortage due to decline in snowfall and the decrease of ground water table in some parts of the valley.
Officials of the state forest department agree that the ascendancy of gun-culture has crippled the state forest functionaries leading to lax supervision of the forests.
Forest officials admit that some militants and timber smugglers were functioning in perfect unison and Were having a field day in destroying forests with impunity.
Unofficial estimates say that over 100,000 deodar and pine trees were illegally felled in the past four years. A chain of saw mills has also mushroomed along the forest belts in the valley from Shopian to Kupwara in south-west Kashmir.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 17, 1994
