CHITRAL, Dec 11: On the occasion of International Mountain Day on Sunday people of mountainous Chitral district said they were being deprived of their mountains and the related resources on different pretexts.

Talking to this correspondent here, local environmentalists and academicians said that almost all the mountains of Chitral had been leased out to the non-local people for exploration of mineral deposits while timber mafia had been destroying the precious deodar forests.

Dr Inayatullah Faizi, a former project manager of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said that the alpine forest of Chital had been facing the axe of the timber mafia and the mountains and pastures were at the verge of being denuded of its trees.

He said that millions of cubic feet of deodar timber had been taken away from the district on the pretext of lifting trees fallen by wind.

Sultan Wali, an environment activist, said that the timber mafia had strong support from some officials in the government.

“The local people in the neighbourhood of forests are paid only Rs200 per cubic feet of timber while the mafia sells it in the national market at Rs4,000 per cubic feet,” he said.

About the lease of mineral deposits in the district, Col (retired) Sardar Mohammad Khan said that people of Chitral could only take a photograph of the mighty mountains while non-local people were reaping their benefits.

“Some of the leaseholders have further sold their mountain lease to the Chinese and American companies for extraction of minerals,” he claimed.

Zahid Ali, a biodiversity specialist, said that the unbridled mining in the mountains and pastures were a potential threat to the biodiversity and the mining companies showed no regard to the flora and fauna of the area.

The people of Chitral say that they are being deprived of their livelihoods from the mountains.

Prof Ali Yar Baig proposed that projects should be launched in the area for environmental rehabilitation and strengthening the local people. He said that over 60 per cent of the total area of the district consists of pastures and rangeland, which can be used to mitigate poverty in the area.

The Terich Mir and other peaks of the Hindukush range have been a great source of attracting tourists and mountaineers, but the worsening security situation as a result of the so-called war on terror has also closed this avenue.  Prof Baig said that the government should take steps for promoting eco-tourism in Chitral.