Over two centuries old trees cut down

First case under Sindh Wildlife Protection Act 2020 lodged against seven suspects

KARACHI:

At least seven suspects involved in cutting down centuries-old trees and transporting them to the cities have been arrested in the Saleh Patt town of Sukkur district on Wednesday.

A case, first after the introduction of Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act 2020, has been lodged at the Saleh Pat police station

At least persons caught red-handed have been arrested along with the wood. The culprits will be produced before the Sessions Court Sukkur today.

"These were environmentally very precious trees," explained Sukkur region's deputy conservator Adnan Hamid Khan. "It is illegal, and our new law does not allow anyone to cut down trees," he added.

Khan said that the raid was conducted on a tip-off and his department's team successfully arrested the persons involved in the illegal activity.

"These were over 200 years old trees," Khan said. "Cutting them down for a few thousand rupees could destroy our environment," he added. He said that the trees were cut down from the desert area.

He also said that two more persons involved in the illegal deforestation would be nominated in the case. "They will also be apprehended as per the law," he added.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, SWD's provincial head Javed Ahmed Mahar said that both species of the trees, Tamarix and Prosopis, locally called Kandi, were not commercially viable. "Their ecological value is matchless," he explained. "They play a valuable role in stopping desertification," he added.

"It is a major loss to our environment if such deforestation continues at a large scale," Mahar said. He also confirmed that cutting precious trees continued in desert areas without any check. "No one stops these people," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2022.