Rumbur residents protest confiscation of timber

CHITRAL, Nov 27: The residents of Rumbor valley held a protest demonstration to force the Ayun police to release their timber which they claimed had illegally been confiscated by the people of Ayun a few months back. [caption id="attachment_5913" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Participants of the protest.--GH Farooqui"][/caption] The speakers on the occasion said that Supreme Court of Pakistan had given a verdict in their favoor and ruled that royalty on forest was the sole right of the residents of Rumboor, not the people of Ayun. “But even then the residents of Ayun have illegally stopped supply of the timber out of our area to Chakdara for sale. The residents of Ayun have no right to disallow the forest development corporation (FDC) to transport the timber out of the valley either.”  The protesters said that when the government supplied these timber to Chakdara through the FDC, the people of Ayun uploaded it from trucks and the logs are lying on the road in Ayun now. They said that on legal permits the contractor had cut deodar trunks but they were also lying on road. They said that these timber worth millions of rupees as getting damaged due to rain and dust. Women also addressed the angry protesters. Saifullah Jan , Hidayatullah, Ubaidullah former councilor, Inayatullah, Jamat Khan, Rahmat Zar and some Kalash women said they have been fighting for their rights for the 17 years and Supreme Court of Pakistan had decided royalty in their favour in 1996-97.. They also held a walk and carrying placards and the participants chanted slogans in favour of their demands.—GH Farooqui]]>