TURA, March 20 - The East Garo Hills district administration today promulgated section 144 CrPC banning transportation of timber across the district.
In a press release on Saturday, the EGH administration stated, �With a view to prevent rampant and illegal felling of trees and transportation of timber from the State reserve forests, East Garo Hills District Magistrate has promulgated Section 144 CrPC in the entire district.
The release stated that the prohibitory order had been imposed to prevent illegal felling of trees and transportation of timber from Rongrenggre and Dambo Reserve Forests.
�We hope this will be able to check the illegal timber smuggling,� said Theju Marak, a resident of Rongjeng, who first brought the deforestation of Dambo-Rongjeng Reserve to notice of the authorities.
The rampant felling of trees in both the Rongrengre and Dambo Reserves had reached alarming proportions with almost 60 per cent of the forests lost to illegal smuggling of timber, besides encroachment of forest land.
The district administration had earlier acted against coal being smuggled illegally from the Rongrengre Reserve, by sealing the pits made by criminal elements.
