Widespread tree felling in forests amid Gen-Z protests

By Rabindra Upreti,Bardibas, Sept. 13: Following incidents of vandalism and arson, forest areas have come under threat under the pretext of the ongoing Gen-Z movement. 

At a time when the movement has reached its peak across the country, groups armed with firearms and traditional weapons entered forest areas and deliberately felled trees in the Tuteshwar Community Forest in Bardibas-4.

The felled trees have blocked roads, obstructing the five km route leading to the Tuteshwarnath Temple and surrounding villages. 

Forest officials and security personnel clashed with the groups while trying to stop the felling. According to victims, the group even fired a few rounds during the incident. Preliminary study suggests that over 200 trees were cut. 

Forest officials said that taking advantage of the nationwide vandalism and destruction associated with the Gen-Z protests, a group of around 150 smugglers began cutting hundreds of trees along both sides of the road to Tuteshwarnath Temple from Tuesday evening, moving southward.

Upon receiving information, Binaykumar Jha, chairman of the Tuteshwar Community Forest, reached the site at night, only to be held by the group for about an hour amid verbal abuse. “It was around midnight. I joined my hands in request for them not to cut the trees, but they held me for an hour. In the darkness, I saw someone carrying a gun, and during that time, two rounds were fired,” Chairman Jha recounted.

Later, a team led by Sub-Division Chief Krishna Kumar Patel, along with armed forest guards from Tuteshwar and Maithan, reached the site around 3:00 am, freeing Jha and returning him to the Tuteshwar sub-division, five km south.

The group did not stop there. By 4:00 am the next day, they again felled trees and set tires on fire at the junction leading to the temple near the Tuteshwar sub-division office. 

After informing the CDO and requesting support, a team of army and armed police reached the site and detained three individuals involved in felling trees, which led to another clash when approximately 700 local women surrounded the security forces, demanding the release of the detained.

“Due to the escalating situation, additional armed forces had to be deployed. Considering the growing crowd and the ongoing nationwide vandalism, the three detained were released, and the security personnel withdrew,” explained Sub-Division Chief Patel.

Chairman Jha questioned, “With governance and administration disrupted nationwide, how can we manage hundreds of felled trees and ensure the safety of both the community and forests? We are in trouble.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the felling. However, some villagers suggest that since the road to Tuteshwar Temple from the highway has narrowed, trees were cut not for timber smuggling but to widen the route for tourism purposes.