Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR (AJK), (Parliament Times) : Huge stock of highly valuable timber wood was reduced to ashes at a depot of the State Forest Department of Azad Jammu Kashmir burnt in Sehrnsa sub division of the Kotli district of Azad Jammu Kashmir Sunday night, official sources said.
“2140 cft (cubic feet) out of total stock of 8000 cft timber wood burnt to ashes in the mishap”, said Anser Yaqoob Secretary AJK State Forest Department who told our Special AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao over telephone on Tuesday that a high level inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the real cause of the incident.
The Secretary AJK Forests said that four officers of the State Forest Department of the concerned regionincluding a Divisional Forest Officer have been suspended for negligence and dereliction of duties. The suspended officers included Sajid Nadeem DFI, Mehboob Afzal Range Officer, Sarfraz Nawaz, Forest Guard, Incharge Depot and Muhammad Shafique Guard, Rest House Depot, Sehensa Sub division.
The above suspended DFO and Range Officer have been ordered to report to Muzaffarabad Forest Conservator office while rest of the two suspended Forest Guard and Guard Forest Rest House Sehensa have been ordered to be attached with Mirpur Forest Conservator office, according to the Secretary Forests AJK.
Meanwhile, social and political quarters raised question while expressing grave concern over the huge loss of lakhs of rupees worth State property in the fire mishap, observed that the state department that could not protect its own timber, causing loss of millions of rupees to the state asset, how it cpuld protect the state forests in the State”.
Mahmood Chaudhry, renowned social activist, while talking to this Correspondent here on Tuesday that Sahansa sub division does not have a fire brigade mobile squade and resultantly, that too had to be summoned from district headquarters of Kotli, AJK in case of the fire incidents.