Daily Times

CHITRAL: The Village Council Forum (VCF) on Wednesday alleged the merciless chopping of forest trees under government patronage and asked the government to cancel the license for transportation of timber out of Chitral.

Addressing a press conference, members of the forum including Sajjad Ahmad Khan, Naveed Ahmad Baig, Mujibur Rahman Shami and others alleged that illegal cutting of forest trees in Arando was continued unabated.

They alleged that the government was paying the way for transportation of millions of feet of timber from Chitral to timber markets in other areas of the country from the district.

They said that the government was trying to give legal cover to the illegal chopping of forest trees in the district, which they said, would destroy the forest in the district.

They said that on the one hand the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has launched the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation’ campaign to increase the number of trees while on the other it was planning to legalise the chopping of forest trees by issuing licenses to timber dealers to transport the timber to other parts of the country.

They alleged that the PTI leaders and other influential people were involved in illegal cutting of forest trees and that was why the government has turned a blind eye to the illegal chopping of forest trees in the district. They said the people of Chitral would foil any attempt to transport timber from the district through Lowari road.

Artificial milk products: The Provincial Government in its first step to implement the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Protection of Breast Feeding and Child Nutrition Act 2015, has decided to regulate the selling of artificial milk products of all national and multi-national companies manufactured for infants as substitute of mother’s milk. There will be a complete ban on selling of such products/containers in the province without a clear, conspicuous and easily understood message “Mother’s Milk is Better for your Baby and Helps in Preventing Diarrhea and other Illnesses” printed on it.

This was decided in the very first meeting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Infant Feeding Board constituted under the above-cited law held here on Wednesday with Senior Minister for Health and Chairman of the Board Shahram Khan Tarakai in the chair.

The decision has been taken in accordance with the provision of the law to encourage breast feeding in the province so as to ensure child nutrition and protect them from various diseases.

The meeting of the board decided that a period of 60 days will be given to the manufacturing companies to clearly print the aforesaid message on their products in both under and English languages in the prescribed height of at least 20 percent of the total height of the container while a period of 30 days will be given for the products already placed in the market to affix a label containing the same message on the products and after this period there will be complete ban on selling of artificial milk products without carrying the prescribed message and the violators will be proceeded against as per provisions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Act 2015.

The meeting also decided to assign special task to the drug inspector of health department to monitor the selling of artificial milk products. The said law prohibits that no person shall in any manner assert that nay designated product is a substitute for mother’s milk or that its equivalent to mother’s milk. The law also prohibits that such product should not contain any thing that may discourage breast feeding.

Addressing the meeting the provincial minster termed that law as highly important with regard to child nutrition and said that it will be implanted in its letter and spirit.