Two tractors ploughing on banks of Pong lake seized

The Wildlife wing of the Forest Department confiscated two tractors ploughing in the wetland around Pong lake. The department came into action after villagers lodged a strong protest against the illegal sowing of crops on prohibited land.

Representatives and people from a dozen panchayats including Samkehad panchayat reached the residence of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar and asked him to intervene in stopping this illegal ploughing by some influential people in the dam area.

While DFO, Wildlife, Hamirpur, was not available despite repeated calls, the department’’s Range Officer Kamaljeet said that those ploughing the wetland in the sanctuary area would not be spared. He said that no one will be allowed to do farming on the banks of the lake.

Warning these habitual offenders, he issued a stern warning that if any tractor was found ploughing, the tractor would be confiscated and a case would be registered against the driver.

The team of the Wildlife Department, with the help of the police, seized two tractors in Sidhatha area and registered a case against Naresh Kumar of Chalwara and Swarn Singh of Papahan.

Resident of the nearby areas said that the mafia was fearlessly ploughing the land at Guler, Nandpur Bhatoli, Nagrota Suriya, Jarot and Jawali up to Fatehpur. The entire region of Guler up to Nandpur, all along the river Baner has been encroached upon by fencing the area posing a serious threat to the migratory birds that visit the lake every winter.