Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 25: The Deputy Commissioner Anantnag has asked the Forest Department to put the eviction drive against forest land encroachers on hold.
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The authorities in district Anantnag have served eviction notices to the people who are living on the forest land in the Nagras area of Qazigund.
The forest dwellers said that they were served with notices by the officials of the Forest Department a few days ago, asking them to vacate.
The dwellers said that they have been living in the area for the last more than 3 centuries and they have not encroached upon the land.
“We have been living here for three generations now, for 300 years and this is not a new encroachment. If there is anyone who guards these forests, it is the Gujjars,” one of the residents, Riyaz Ahmad Chechi said.
He said that their sustenance and livelihood depend on the forests and that there is a connection between the Gujjar community and the forests. “There is a connection and due to that, we have been living here for ages. Our sustenance and livelihood depend on these forests.”
The residents said that the officials from the Forest department fixed notices on their houses, asking them to vacate which, they said, is not acceptable.
The concerned Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Muhammad Ramzan, however, said that they have put the eviction on hold.
“The Government has put on hold the evictions from the forest areas. After the issue came to my notice, I talked to the Deputy Commissioner and have issued an order directing all range officers to put on hold the eviction drive till further orders,” he said.
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