The powerful timber mafia continues to wreak havoc as they have cut down precious trees from some forests in the Swat district. According to some local sources at scenic Malam Jabba valley in Swat, the mafia is active for the past couple of months and has inflicted losses worth millions by cutting down precious trees illegally from Pinus jungles at Gat Kandao area of Malam Jabba. “So far, at different places, the mafia has cut down a half dozen precious conifer trees, gutted several other plants resultantly inflicting huge losses on the forests,” said the local source who is privy to this scribe. The source while blaming officials of the district forest office (DFO) said that the officials of the DFO had been informed timely but every time they failed to reach the site of the destruction and take action against the culprits. Meanwhile, as some of the pictures and videos on the illegal cutting down of precious trees were doing rounds on social media, members of the civil society took to the streets and condemned the brutal act of the Timber Mafia. They also lashed out at the officials of the DFO office for failing to take action against them. Saleem Khan, a social activist, said they were unhappy with the silence maintained by the officials of the forest department.
Timber mafia fells precious trees
The powerful timber mafia continues to wreak havoc as they have cut down precious trees from some forests in the Swat district. According to some local sources at scenic Malam Jabba valley in Swat, the mafia is active for the past couple of months and has inflicted losses worth millions by cutting down precious trees […]
