Handwara: The forest department retrieved 100 Kanal (05 hectare) forest land during an anti encroachment drive in Rajwar area of Handwara which was illegally occupied by the people living along the forests.
Official sources in the forest department said that they had received several complaints that some people in Behnipora village illegally encroached upon the forest land in compartment number 20 and 58.
Taking a strong note a team of officials headed by concerned range officer visited the area and retrieved the land from the occupiers. They said some people had encroached the forest lands and planted several kinds of trees in it while some started farming on the forest land, besides a watch tower was also installed in the land, they said that as the occupiers resisted with officials even then the department retrieved the land and merged it with forest area.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Langate Abdul Hamid Malla confirmed to Kashmir Reader that they retrieved five hectares of forest land which was encroached by some people in the area. He said the department has devised a plan wherein they will retrieve the other forest lands in the division from the people who have encroached it.

Mushtaq Ahamd