CHITRAL, Jan 19: The residents of the Kalash valley of Rumbur have expressed apprehensions over the alleged propaganda regarding the ruthless cutting of trees in the forests of the valley and asked the government not to pay any heed to such rumours by certain quarters.

Talking to mediapersons visiting the valley, they said that as per forest working plan, the harvesting of dried and fallen trees was in progress under the supervision of the residents of the valley, organised into joint forest management committee (JFMC).

The former minority member of the district council Saifullah Jan, Kalash woman activists Shina, Chaman Bibi, Gulter and others categorically denied cutting of any fresh tree in the forest and said the community members were closely monitoring the harvesting process.

They said the Kalash community members feared that if the timber was not lifted from the forest, it would decay and lose its value in the market.

They recalled that a large quantity of precious deodar had already been rendered useless.

The said that the forest had thousands of ageing trees, which needed to be felled to allow growth of young trees.

The Kalash people said that the JFMCs had been formed under a strategy evolved by the forest department, adding as per the policy, 60 per cent revenue generated through sale of such timber went to the Kalash people of Rumbur as royalty to reduce their poverty.