Timber mafia has been engaged to cut woods from the thick forests of Islamabad capital territory due to negligence of capital development authority.
The people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are using woods and LNG due to gas shortage in intense winter. The timber mafias, taking advantage of shortage of gas has started cutting woods from forest of Islamabad for fulfilling demands of the masses due to ignorance of the CDA and to pocket money.
Poor women have been hired by timber mafia for cutting woods. The women said that timber mafias pick and drop them through their vehicles near forests of Islamabad for cutting woods.
They said that they belonging to poor family are working for timber mafias to earn breads for their children though they are paid a meager amount when compared to rates of fire wood at stalls. The woods are being supplied to restaurant, hotels and woods sellers at a high rate.
They said that the timber mafias, in order to save themselves from CDA action, are using poor women to collect woods. Meanwhile despite a huge manpower in its enforcement department, the CDA has failed to check the cutting of wood and it is a common sight that poor women and aged people are carrying the wood on their heads or bicycles either to their homes or to the wood stalls.
