10,000 hectares of forest land added in two decades in Dang

Approximately 10,000 hectares of forest land have been added in Dang district in the past two decades, according to the District Forest Office. Tree sapling plantation in dry river beds, and handing over such forests to the local communities for caretaking are credited for the forest area increment, said forest divisional officer Dipak Gyawali.

The district forest office has launched a campaign to turn dry river beds into forest areas this year, and in this regard, around 40 hectares of such river beds have been barbed wire, he added. Likewise, the forest office has provided Rs 100,000 each to the local forest users groups in a bid to encourage them in this regard.

This year, tree plantation has taken place in dry river beds in Dhikpur, Dharna, Beluwa of Laxmipur and Hapur after barb-fencing them, said the office. The Division Forest Office has planted 4,000 bamboo saplings in various river beds in Dang district to control river erosion.

The local forest users groups have been tasked with conserving the saplings, and for their work, they are paid Rs 100 for conserving a sapling, said Khimu Prasad KC, information officer at the Division Forest Office. Similarly, tree plantation on the road sides linking Ghorai and Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City has started this year. Plantation of saplings of various 50,000 medicinal herbs is underway in forests in the northern side of the district, said the district forest. RSS