Locals of Bramhadev in Bhimdatta Municipality have raised concerns over alleged smuggling of timber from the Siddhanath Community Forest, adjacent to the Chure region, to India.

They say that smugglers cut down sal trees in Bramhadev, Kanchanpur, dump them into the Mahakali River and collect the logs downstream in India.

“We’ve seen rapid deforestation in the area,” said Harka Bahadur Chand, chairman of Siddhanath Community Forest. “We suspect that raw timber is being smuggled across the border at night.”

Kalla Masetti is close to the Indian border town of Tanakpur across the Mahakali and around five kilometres north of Bramhadev area. Moti Mahata, a local, said they also occasionally find logs scattered on the river banks. “Khalla Masetti has developed as the main route of timber smugglers these days,” said Mahata.

Last week, security personnel and forest officials, who inspected the area, found more than two dozen tree stumps were found in the forest,” said Chand.

Ajaya Bikram Manandhar, chief divisional forest officer at Kanchanpur Divisional Forest Office, said his office has been investigating the illegal felling of trees in the community forests and Chure area in Bhimdatta municipality. “We have also sent a letter to the sub-divisional office to start an investigation into the matter,” said Manandhar.

A few days ago, Kanchanpur Division Forest Office arrested Gaja Bahadur Chand, a local resident of Khalla Masetti, on charge of smuggling timber. He was released without bail a few days later. According to Manandhar, authorities are looking for other culprits.