HYDERABAD: Scores of activists of civil society organisations held a demonstration outside local press club on Sunday in protest against devastation of forests and appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan to order a thorough probe into encroachment upon thousands of acres of forest land in the province.

They raised slogans against Sindh government and corrupt officers of district management group, politicians and influential persons, accusing them of encroaching upon forest land.

Indus Development Organisation executive director Abdul Razzaq alias Zain Daudpoto and leaders of civil society organisations including Suleman G. Abro, Punhal Sario, Prof Mushtaque Mirani, Dr Karam Rustamani, Zulfiqar Halepoto and Akhtar Shaikh led the protest and called for the protection and preservation of forests in Sindh.

They said that 800,000 acres of forest area had been encroached upon since late 1970s under a policy framed by corrupt Sindh government functionaries in connivance with influential politicians.

They called for a strong forum with all stakeholders — local and dependent communities, civil society, forest dwellers and others — onboard with a view to safeguarding forests and environment from the anti-environment policy and corrupt functionaries.

They said that vigilance committees for forests which were already formed and supposed to work under the supervision of district and sessions judges should be made functional.

Mr Daudpota said that DMG officers and influential politicians were involved in the large-scale devastation of forests, encroachment upon state land and its illegal allotment. They had planned to convert forest land into private one so that they could give it away easily to their favourites to gain vested interests at the cost of irreparable damage to environment, he said.

“A single acre of forest provides oxygen to 18 people and forests over 800,000 acres can supply oxygen to 15 million people,” he said.

He said that disappearance of forests had rendered jobless millions of local and dependent communities who used to scratch a living from breeding livestock which grazed on forest land.

He appealed to CJP to take notice of this social and environmental devastation and rehabilitate forests for a better environment and decent living for villagers who lived in forests in the province.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2018