ILAM,Oct 1:  An unexpected encounter between armed forest guards and smugglers saw shots being fired in air at the Gaide Community Forest along the border of Ilam and Jhapa. When a team of forest guards from the Chulachuli Forest Subdivision saw some smugglers floating the Sakhuwa timber in a river in the forest, they fired shots in the air.

ARGHAKHACHI, April 13: The ongoing lockdown has proved to be a boon in disguise for timber smugglers, according to locals of Kapilvastu and Arghakhachi. A huge number of Sal trees from the government and community forests of the two districts have gone missing recently, they say. Following this, the district forest division office has started patrolling the sensitive areas.

NEPALGUNJ, Sept 18: Locals allege that there has been massive deforestation in the Kohalpur area due to the nexus between timber smugglers and forest department officials.