Strikes against the Thural Forest’s Khair Wood Mafia

The Kangra district’s Thural forest is home to the Khair Wood Mafia, which the Forest Department is still actively targeting. A group led by Range Officer Daroh searched several areas of the forest near the Neugal River and found khair wood that had been cut with an axe by smugglers. Smugglers piled khair wood in deep woodland to evade the forest department’s operation.

Following an intelligence leak, the police stormed the neighborhood lumber yard and seized unlawfully stored khair wood.

The Forest Department will continue its campaign, according to Divisional Forest Officer Dr. Nitin Patil of Palampur, and it would be prohibited for anybody to chop khair trees in the region. He claimed that investigations were underway to find the smugglers who cut down 27 khair trees in Thural Forest. The department is also searching for the vehicles and tippers that were used to transport the khair illegally. He claimed that proceedings were being filed against the unidentified individuals and that khair stacks have already been confiscated.

This week, 27 khair trees valued at Rs 5 lakh that were unlawfully chopped down on private property in Thural, 35 kilometers from Palampur, were felled. Three days ago, it was alleged that smugglers broke into the private property at night, used machinery to chop down trees, and made their way out. According to inquiries, the forest mafia removed the stumps of 27 trees in addition to felling them in order to remove any proof that they had ever existed.

The local forest authorities were notified by the locals when they discovered the missing trees the next morning, and they promptly arrived and began their inquiry. Later, from a nearby timber store, the police retrieved khair wood. The depot’s owner was unable to provide any legal proof of who owned the khair wood that was piled within his establishment. Two tippers that the smugglers had used to deliver the illegally harvested khair timber to neighboring locations are being sought for by the Forest Department.

According to the DFO, an investigation was underway. The cut trees grown on private property were not identified by the Forest Department, he said. It is forbidden to cut khair wood in forests or on private property without the Forest Department’s prior consent. Additionally, he said that private owners of khair trees must get approval from the relevant DFO before tagging their trees.

Smugglers of khair wood are active in the Kangra area. In the Rakkar region, khair trees were chopped down last week. One smuggler was detained by the police and charged with several offenses under the Forest Act and the IPC. There have also been reports of illegal khair felling from Nurpur. The majority of the khair wood that has been felled illegally is sent to “katha” makers in the districts of Una and Kangra.