ATTARIYA: Wood smuggling has increased in Kailali in the wake of nationwide lockdown to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Smugglers, as locals claim, are taking undue advantage of the lockdown to promote their illegal business.
The Division Forest Office, Kailali said timber smuggling is on the rise at Godavari, Bardgoriya, Bhajani, Lamki and Ghodaghodi municipalities with the lockdown in place.
District Police Office, Kailali Deputy Superintendent of Police Daksha Kumar Basnet said smugglers have been arrested from several rural municipalities and municipalities in the district.
Police have also taken the help of the Armed Police Force to catch perpetrators from the community and forests.
Since the lockdown that came into force on March 24, some 10 persons have been from Godavari, Bhajani, Lamki, Bardgoriya and Ghodaghodi areas.
Division Forest Office Dhangadhi chief Ram Chandra Kandel said they were facing challenges in the control of wood smuggling during the lockdown.
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