BADIN, Feb 21: Eucalyptus, bubble and other trees of Rari and Boharki forests are being chopped down and sold at throw-away prices, resulting in rapid vanishing of forests along the coastal area of the district.

The deforestation is not only harming the ecology and scenic beauty of the area but also affecting agriculture of the coastal belt because the forests are the main blockade source of seawater.

The chopping down of valuable trees is also inflicting huge revenue losses to the government. The Boharki forest, spreading over 17,000 acres of land along the border, is known for its importance from defence point of view.

The Rari forest, which is spread over 12,000 acres of land in the Shaheed Fazil Rahu taluka, is known for its greenery. But due to negligence on part of forest officials, the forest is rapidly vanishing as influential people are chopping trees and using the fertile forest land for agriculture purposes.

Similar is the fate of the Boharki forest. A resident of Kadhan, Abdullah Khan Chandio, complained that officials, including forest conservator and range forest officers, never bother to visit the forest and see the situation.

He alleged that recently 164 acres of the Boharki forest were given on contract basis to a local contractor on the pretext of removing sick, fallen and dead trees but the contractor, instead of targeting those trees, chopped healthy trees which were dispatched to various towns in more 20 vehicles.

He said the unskilled labour hired by the contractor used to burn unwanted trees, also causing damages to the rest of the forest. The cyclone 2A in the district caused losses to 70 per cent of trees which also led to shortage of fuel wood.

Allah Bachayo Jamali, another resident of Kadhan, said the situation could be improved if a large-scale affore station was undertaken in rural areas and the forests' conservation was ensured. People of the district have demanded that the forests should be preserved and saved from further destruction.