January 27, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 17, 1429

THATTA, Jan 26: The district forest department had sought the help of paramilitary Rangers to evict encroachers backed by influential landlords of the area from the state land, said District Forest Officer (Afforestation) Anwar Baloch on Saturday.

He said that the department had sent over a dozen or so official letters to the district police officer, requesting him for registration of FIRs against 60 influential landlords who had occupied state lands in Bao Porandas, Shalingo, Bijora, Garko and a number of other forests but no action had been taken so far.

He said that after the closure of four water escapes some armed henchmen of landlords stormed the escape sites and thrashed the irrigation beldars (workers) there.

A total of 55,000 acres of state land was under occupation of the land grabbers in the forests of the district. The department had earlier closed all the four water escapes and 45 illegal watercourses, which were irrigating the encroached lands, in a bid to compel them to vacate the lands.

The beldars and other employees of the irrigation department have refused to work after attack on their colleagues by encroachers. They warned they would not work unless the people involved in attack were not booked.

On Tuesday some unidentified armed men had forcibly removed obstructions in Hazari minor, Panah minor and Huderani minor and tortured five employees of the irrigation department, Usman Mirbahar, Sain Dino and Allah Bachayo and others.