Saw mill owners threaten to launch stir

Shillong, Jul 13 (UNI) Saw mill owners and timber merchants in Meghalaya have urged the state government to lift the ban on timber trade and saw mill business and also threatened to launch a stir if the government failed to meet the demand.

The Meghalaya Land and Forest Owners Association (MLFOA) stated here today that the state government had passed a resolution in the Assembly during 2000 as per the Supreme Court's order banning timber business and saw mills.

The association also alleged that the authorities had forced them to shut the mills and seized all the machinery causing great losses to most of the saw mill owners.

The association also decided to launch a stir if the government failed to meet their demand and lift the ban.

Meanwhile, the state government is likely to hold a meeting with the representatives of the association in this regard tomorrow to discuss about the issue.

The next course of action would be taken after the meeting, the sources added.

The Apex Court had, in an order to all the state governments, asked to ban the operation of saw mills and illegal timber trade throughout the country in a bid to save forests from destruction.

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