Trails Of Devastation: Department-Owned Properties And Assets Destroyed

A total of 26 incidents have occurred in attacking staff members of the Forest Department including the destruction of department-owned buildings, plantations, arrested timbers, vehicles and machines and nursery farms by unscrupulous people according to the Forest Department.

The incidents happened in Kayah State, Chin State, Sagaing Region and Nay Pyi Taw Council area from the 1st February to 18th June.

The incidents include attacks against staff members of Forest Department and destroying forest department-owned buildings, setting timber extracting camps on fire, looting and setting fire on the arrested timbers and vehicles, machines and related equipments and cutting down the teakwood trees in the plantations by unscrupulous people.

These attacks, along with looting and devastation left 3 staff members of forest wounded, along with numerous assets destroyed. 9 state-owned buildings, about 489 tons of teakwood and hardwood, 3 motor vehicles, 18 motorbikes, 11 hand-saws, 10 hand phones, 9 batteries, 8 engine units, 50 accessories, 2 dynamos, 9039 teakwood trees from 12 matured old plantations, 30,000 teakwood/ Mangyansia seedlings from 2 nursery farms and 2 acres of village for use in firewood plantation.

According to the Forest Department, the total losses are estimated to be over 345 million Kyats.