Main reason for cloudburst in Himachal is the illegal and haphazard cutting of forests : Satti

MLA from Una and former State President of BJP, Satpal Singh Satti said that due to cloudburst near Pandoh in Mandi a few days ago, wood worth crores of rupees got washed away on the roads, which makes it clear that the forest mafia is fully active under the protection of the government and is continuously engaged in destroying the valuable wealth of the forests.
The BJP leader said that the incidents of cloudburst are increasing continuously during the rainy season in Himachal Pradesh and the main reason for this is illegal and haphazard cutting of forests due to which natural disasters are increasing day by day, causing huge loss of life and property.
He took strong note of the statement of the Vice President of the Forest Corporation and Congress leader in which he said that the wood that has come floating is not from illegal felling. If this wood is not from illegal felling then why did the Forest Department not lift this wood? Why was the Forest Department sleeping in Kumbhakarna’s sleep? Clearly the government is trying to suppress this whole matter while the National Spokesperson of the Congress Party Kuldeep Rathore, who is also a Congress MLA from Theog, has demanded an inquiry into this whole matter. The Chief Minister, who also holds the Forest Department, is maintaining silence in this matter. The government and the Forest Department may be trying to wash their hands off this matter but the reality is that this wood was cut illegally by the forest cutters. Forests are being cut illegally under the nose of the government and the government is sitting as a spectator.
Satpal Satti questioned the Congress leader and the Vice President of the Forest Corporation that if this wood was cut and kept, then why did the Forest Corporation not remove this wood worth crores of rupees from there? Was the Forest Corporation waiting for the wood to float away in the rains and when this wood reached the Pandoh Dam while floating, it was made to disappear. It is clear that the Congress leaders and the government are engaged in looting the forest wealth of the state.
The BJP leader said that Himachal Pradesh, which is known for its natural beauty and lush green forests, is gradually losing its natural beauty, due to which the tourism business of Himachal is getting affected and the climate of Himachal is also changing. Himachal Pradesh, which is also known all over the world as the apple state, is now gradually losing its glory, because due to illegal felling, snowfall and rain in Himachal is decreasing, due to which the horticulture of Himachal is getting continuously damaged and now the production of apples has become limited to only high hill areas. He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its workers are playing their part in saving the environment by doing tree plantation programs and for the next one month, BJP is going to do tree plantation programs continuously, but the state government is forgetting its responsibility and is not serious about environmental protection.
Satpal Satti said that under the rule of the present Congress government, mafias are dominating everywhere in the state. Be it forest mafia, chitta mafia, mining mafia, transfer mafia, mafia rule is creating havoc in entire Himachal.
Satpal Satti has demanded that a high level investigation should be conducted in Mandi’s Pandoh or any other place where the wood has come floating so that it can be ascertained who cut the wood worth crores of rupees and effective steps should also be taken to stop this type of illegal cutting so that Himachal Pradesh can be saved from the huge loss of life and property that happens every year during the rainy season. If illegal cutting of forests continues like this, then there is full possibility of more terrible natural disasters in Himachal in the coming years.
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