Wooden furniture makers flay ‘raids’

MANSEHRA: Denouncing the raids on the factories by the officials of the Forest Department, the wooden furniture manufacturers on Wednesday threatened to stage protest if the ongoing crackdown was not stopped forthwith.

“The Forest Department has miserably failed to check the deforestation in the district and timber mafia is still active in the illegal cutting. The officials are conducting raids on the factories Instead of launching crackdown against the mafia,” Muhammad Yousaf, the president of the Wooden Furniture Makers Association, told reporters after a meeting here.

The meeting, which was attended by wooden furniture makers from all parts of the district, demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to stop the Forest Department from conducting unjustified raids on their factories and showrooms.

“We have been using the wood obtained through legal permits and not using smuggled beams but even then the Forest Department’s officials are creating hurdles for us,” said Muhammad Yousaf.

Speaking on the occasion, the senior vice-president of the association, Abdul Razzaq, said that their business had already been suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Almost all wooden future makers in the city and its suburbs are only dependent on the timber obtained through the legal means, but even then facing the wrath of the Forest Department officials, which is highly deplorable,” he added.