July 18, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 02, 1428

MANSEHRA, July 17: A jirga of all the tribes of Kala Dhaka has banned the illegal cutting of trees due to an increase in timber smuggling from the area. Sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the jirga members took notice of the timber smuggling and put a ban on the illegal cutting of trees.

The sources said the large-scale cutting of trees in the Kala Dhaka area had triggered soil erosion due to which the Tarbela Lake was filling up.

The jirga, held in Oghi tehsil, was attended by elders belonging to the Nusratkhel, Basikhel, Madakhel, Akazai and Hassanzai tribes of Kala Dhaka. MPA Zar Gul Khan, administrator of Kala Dhaka Tasleem Khan, district forest officer Sajid Mohammad Ayub and forest officer Mohammad Ghani were present.

The elders said they would take action against the people involved in the illegal cutting of trees and timber smuggling from the area.

MPA Zar Gul said: “I will take up the matter with the federal and provincial governments to declare Kala Dhaka a forest range and all the staff should be appointed from the Kala Dhaka area.”

He said the cutting of trees and timber smuggling could be controlled if natural gas was supplied to the Oghi tehsil and Kala Dhaka areas.