Cutting of trees

Residents of Kanidajan village of Budgam have leveled serious allegations against forest department officials for forcibly cutting about 10000 apple trees planted by them.

Mehbooba Mufti during her visit to Budgam district gave further details about this incident and said that on November 10 dozens of forest officials along with many workers vandalized the apple orchards of local people in Kanidajan area.

Mehbooba claimed that villagers were told that they will face police cases if they raise their voice. In the recent past Gujjar and Bakarwals have alleged that they got eviction notices from the forest department in many villages of Kashmir including in Pahalgam.

It came into the media focus recently, when forest officials demolished several mud huts of Gujjar and Bakarwals in Ladoora village of Pahalgam.

They were asked to leave the forest land by the officials. Mehbooba Mufti has said that such actions of the government will not go without resistance on the ground and said that all such designs of New Delhi would be fought back by the common people of Kashmir.

She said the central government is using its agencies to keep even the political leadership busy in cases so that they do not raise voice for the common people especially those who are living near the forests of Kashmir.