KALAIGAON, Oct 18 � The All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU), Udalguri district committee, has come forward to stop illegal tree felling and poaching in Udalguri district bordering Bhutan.
Dipen Boro, adviser, and Nerkhang Khaklary, president, Udalguri district committee of the ABSU, told this correspondent that the ABSU has decided to launch a massive campaign against deforestation and poaching in the district and support the civil and forest departments in the interest of preserving the flora and fauna of Udalguri.
Meanwhile, an operation was launched against timber smugglers and poachers by the Range Office, Nonai Reserve Forest, and the ACF, Dhansiri Division, Udalguri, inside the Nonai Reserve Forest at Kharmati under the Bhergaon subdivision on October 14.
An exchange of fire took place between forest personnel and poachers during the operation. The forest team was led by Raju Brahma, ACF, Dhansiri Forest Division. One power chain saw, 20 bicycles and 300 KB of timber were recovered from the area. An illegal camp of timber cutters was also dismantled.
However, 20 smugglers managed to escape into the deep forest during the operation. It may be mentioned here that rapid deforestation has caused the man-elephant conflict in the district, resulting in the death of 20 people in 2014 alone.
