SILCHAR, Sept 14 - Even as Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma has taken a firm stance on smuggling of trees, the practice seems unabated in the forests of Barak Valley.
According to sources, the Forest Department officials were caught napping as smugglers chopped off a large number of teak trees in the Rengti Tilla Reserve Forest under Dholai constituency of Cachar district.
Sources said that a total of 15 teak trees were cut down in the past 15 days from the reserve forest.
Mrinal Kanti Nath, Forest Beat Officer said that the felling of trees was done at night.
�We are keeping a strict vigil on the movement of the smugglers here. But the smugglers come at night with arms and sharp weapons to cut the trees. We are alert to the situation and did not allow the smugglers to run away with the trees,� Nath maintained.
