MINGORA, May 17: Hundreds of trees have been cut in rivalry in the upper parts of Swat as serious differences have surfaced between two tribes of Kalam and Bahrain over a disputed forest.

The inhabitants of Bahrain and leaders of the Sarhad Forestry Alliance in a press conference here at the Swat press club on Saturday disclosed that the Gujar community had started illegal cutting of the forests and the entire area had been changed into a desert.

Raja Mumtaz, general secretary of the alliance, who was also flanked by a number of elders, alleged that the Gujar community was cutting the forests in connivance with the employees of the forest department.

It was told that the elders themselves had visited the sites and informed the forest authorities, but no action was taken against the mafia, they added. They gave a dead line of May 25 for halting of the illegal cutting and warned to take action themselves if the authorities failed to fulfil their duties.