Excelsior Correspondent
BHADERWAH, Jan 11: Tall claims of Forest Minister that they have stored enough firewood and timber for harsh winters seems to be fallen flat, as common people in Chenab Valley are reeling under severe shortage of firewood.
According to the reports every year before the on-set of winters, Forest department use to install temporary outlets in the towns especially in Bhaderwah to provide firewood to the consumers, but people claimed that this year, despite repeated pleas authorities kept them waiting for the same to face extreme weather conditions.
Forest Department use to sell firewood and timber to the consumers at their depots but recently Jammu and Kashmir Government in an order gave SFC the responsibility of selling, which perhaps created the chaos. Now in the hour of crisis no one is ready to shoulder the responsibility thereby making the common man to suffer and leaving them at the mercy of God.
We are unable to locate the reason, as to why Forest Department suspended this practice of selling firewood, perhaps they want to make people suffer or they are indirectly promoting illegal green felling,” said president, Beopar Mandal, Saleem-ur-Rehman Sambri.
“We are already facing acute shortage of power supply and unavailability firewood is adding to the problems of a common man, so administration should take a decision in this regard and restore the sale of firewood in the vicinity of different locations of the town at the earliest,” Sambri added.
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