HYDERABAD, May 30: Influential people of the area in collusion with district forest officials have cut down 80 million of 90.5 million trees in the Rais Mureed Belo (forest), shrinking the forested area to just 2,000 acres from 12,000 acres three years ago, Belo Bachayo Committee claims on Wednesday.

The committee leaders Noorullah Sangrasi, Haji Usman Sangrasi, Ghulam Mustafa Sangrasi and Faqir Mohammad Sangrasi told a news conference at the press club that only 10.5 million trees were left standing in the forest now.

They said that the forested land once cleared of trees fell into the lap of land-grabbers, mainly belonging to Khosa community. They raised a lot of hue and cry over the issue but nobody seemed to care much about the impact of systematic deforestation on such a large scale, they complained.

Disappointed in the officials of forest department due to their insipid response to the problem they formed the Belo Bachayo Committee (save forest committee) in collaboration with Indus Development Organisation and UNDP to be able to save what had remained of the forest.

They said that living at the far end of Rais Mureed Belo near the protective bund they were heavily dependent on forest, in which they grazed cattle, their only source of livelihood.

They said that the deforestation had not only had damaging affects on their source of livelihood but it had also destroyed the environment.

The forest, which had a very pleasant weather even in summer now become an inferno due to less number of trees, they said.

They said that the committee leaders drew the attention of adviser to chief minister on forests Syed Aijaz Shah Shirazi to the problem in a meeting with him and Mr Shirazi directed the DFO of Hyderabad to stop deforestation.

They also met with the officials of Matiari district and DFO and asked them to take action against forest land grabbers but all their request fell on deaf ears.

They appealed to the Sindh government, chief secretary, officials of the forest department and district government to help save what remained of the forest and demanded that the government should throw out all the land-grabbers and the forest department should be directed to plant more trees.

They warned that if the government did not take any concrete steps to save the forest they would not only stage demonstrations but also take practical steps to protect the forest themselves and the authorities would be responsible for any untoward incident.