Dehradun (Uttarakhand): The Uttarakhand government has started removing religious structures and cemeteries built on the forest land. Besides, the forest department has detected three abandoned graveyards inside the Rajaji National Park also known as Corbett National Park. Apart from this, according to the data provided by the Forest Department, there are three cemeteries present in Rajaji National Park. As per the forest law, human intervention was prohibited. Hence, in such a situation, the existence of three cemeteries inside the reserve forest has raised many eyebrows.
The matter became even more serious when the forest administration found some 'remains' near the cemetery. It is stated that these cemeteries were 40 years old. These cemeteries were in existence before bringing them under the jurisdiction of the national park. But, these cemeteries were closed after the coming up of the national park.
Corbett's director Dheeraj Pandey said, "These cemeteries are more than 40 years old. But some remains were found near the spot. No human activities were found near the cemeteries when the park was brought under the ambit of the national park. How come the board has been installed near the graveyard needs an investigation."
Meanwhile, as per the directive of the High Court, the State government has begun removing all such illegal constructions built on the forest land. The illegal constructions also include the setting up of several religious places on the forest land. More than 15 tombs in Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun have been removed during the anti-encroachment drive. Now, as per data provided by the forest department, a cemetery has been found inside Corbett National Park.
