100ha of jungle freed from encroachers in a day

Indore: Khandwa forest department on Monday claimed to have freed around 100 hectares of jungle that was encroached upon by a group of people for farming. To reclaim the forest, the department destroyed crops sown by encroachers by felling large quantities of trees.
According to Khandwa DFO Rakesh Kumar Damor, the operation, which began at 8:00am involved over 400 officials and personnel from the forest department, revenue department and police.“Earthmoving machines and tractors were used to destroy the illegal crops and level the fields” he said, adding that despite heavy rains, the joint team worked diligently, reclaiming around 100 hectares of the area throughout the day.
“The remaining areas are expected to be cleared in the coming days, followed by efforts to restore the forest by planting seed balls and installing wire fencing,” he said, adding that this year, these encroached forests were used to cultivate soybean and corn crops, causing significant damage to the forest ecosystem.
After destroying the crop, the team dug contour trenches on the jungle's land. This operation sent a strong message from the Forest Department to encroachers, the DFO said, adding that after freeing a total around 2000 hectares of encroached jungle this year, a detailed plan will be prepared for afforestation from next year. TNN