Felling of 400 forest trees for Zojilla tunnel an environmental disaster,punish the construction company : Hakeem

Srinagar/ January 23 : Chairman People’s Democratic Front (PDF) Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen has expressed concern over the wanton destruction of forests by felling of about 380 pine tree by a private company assigned the construction of 14.5 kms long Zojilla tunnel on Srinagar- Leh Highway. He has demanded stern action against the construction company.
In a statement issued on Saturday Hakeem expressed concern over felling of about 400 pine trees in Nilgrath area clandestinely by Mega Engineering and Infrastructure Company Limited, in the garb of construction of Zojilla tunnel on Srinagar-Leh Highway. He said most shockingly, the construction company has not bothered to even intimate the forest authorities nor has the local forest officers on duty taken any preventive measures, untill the company has mercilessly felled 400 pine trees in the area. He demand stern action under law not only the construction company for playing the spoil spot but against the local forest authorities also who have miserably failed in their assigned legitimate duty to protect forests .He said wanton devastation of green cover of such a massive magnitude was bound to cause an alarming environmental disaster in the entire kashmir division. “While undertaking developmental projects, there should be no compromise with the environment preservation,” Hakeem observed while urging the government to take all the required measure for preserving natural resources including forests and mountain ridges while undertaking construction of the Zojilla tunnel. He said just as mindless cutting of mountains in four Lanning of Srinagar- Jammu National Highway has proving disastrous, similarly wanton felling of trees and mountains in the process of Zojilla tunnel construction was be another environmental disaster, if not rectified in time.PDF Chairman has urged the government to acquire most modern technologies for construction of Zojilla tunnel to ensure minimum felling of trees .