Chamba locals and contractors clash over Kashmal root prices

Local residents and contractors are in dispute over the price of Kashmal roots in Chamba Forest Division. Previously, contractors paid locals 10 rupees per kilogram for Kashmal roots, while selling them to pharmaceutical companies at higher prices. Locals are now demanding 18 rupees per kilogram, a price contractors are unwilling to meet, halting the harvesting. The Forest Department can only monitor the extraction from forest land, not the pricing between locals and contractors. The department has instructed staff to prevent Kashmal extraction from forest areas and has apprehended and fined individuals for illegal nighttime harvesting.