MANSEHRA: Traders and residents of Oghi tehsil here on Wednesdayurged authorities to allocate funds for blacktopping the dilapidated Battal Road.

`The government had earmarked Rs220 million for blacktopping the Khatai-Oghi-Battal Road but the contractor left work incomplete due to a lack of funds. Now, the portion, which wasn`t blacktopped, is in bad shape, inconveniencing motorists and commuters,` trader leader Mian Saidur Rehman told reporters in Oghi.

Accompanied by traders and residents, Mr Rehman said that despite the release of funds for the blacktopping of the Khatai-Battal Road, the contractor only completed part of the road from Oghi to Battal sev-eral years ago.

`Now, even that section has fallen into decay,` he said.

Mr Rehman said drivers had stopped using the road fearing damage to vehicles, with passengers, government employees and students being the most affected.

He added that it was extremely difficult to travel on the road from Chajar to Battal area.

TIMBER SEIZED: The forest department`s patrolling squad in the lower parts of the Hazara Division has seized a large quantity of timber being illegally shifted to other parts of the country via Karakoram Highway and Hazara Motorway.

`We have launched acrackdown on timber smuggling and seized over 827cubic feet of high-quality wood, arresting around two dozen smugglers,` divisional forest officer of the patrolling squad Junaid Khan told reporters here on Thursday.

He said the government completely banned tree felling and timber transportation last year to preserve the environment.

`We have intensified our patrols and secured all Hazara Motorway interchanges from Haripur to Mansehra to ensure effective raids and vehicle monitoring, he said.

He added that conservator Farhad Ali personally monitored patrollingactivities in the region to check timber smuggling effectively.

`Owing to effective patrolling and seizure of dozens of vehicles loaded with wood on KKH and Hazara Motorway, the rate of illegal tree felling in forests has significantly decreased,` he said.

Mr Khan said raids were also being conducted on warehouses where smuggled timber and wooden beams were secretly stored.

`We have confiscated a huge quantity of timber and wooden beams dumped in Mansehra and other parts of the division. Those arrested have been fined over Rs3.45 million in 43 such cases, he said.