MIRZA, Jan 4 - A team of Forest personnel from Singra and Bamunigaon Forest Range Offices under Kamrup West Forest Division on Friday seized a huge consignment of immature logs from Neulduba village near Boko in Kamrup district. The approximate value of the seized logs is around Rs 10 lakh.
Sources said that the logs were seized from Saraighat Engineers, a construction company which was about to use those immature logs for construction of a concrete bridge at Neulduba located in the Neulduba-Goroimari Road, which is at present under construction.
Sources said that timber merchants allegedly sold this huge consignment of logs to Saraighat Engineers and the logs were believed to have been felled somewhere under Boko and Bamunigaon forest ranges under Kamrup West Forest Division in Kamrup district.
It may be mentioned here that Forest personnel of Bamunigaon Forest Range and Kukurmata Beat Office have also seized a huge cache of sawn timber, including some pillars of sal trees, that were being transported towards Guwahati via the Brahmaputra about three days back.
According to Forests officials, the sawn timber worth approximately Rs 2 lakh, was seized in Gumi-Bartari segment of the Brahmaputra.
DFO, Kamrup West Forest Division has been leading several other major operations against timber smugglers and huge consignments of timber have already been seized so far from the timber smugglers during the last few months.
Sources said that over 70 per cent of mature timber have already been denuded during the last 30 years at various forest reserves in Kamrup West Forest Division. Hence, timbers smugglers are now felling immature timber in the division.
Sources alleged that timber smuggling in Kamrup West Forest Division is continuing unabatedly under the connivance of some unscrupulous Forest personnel.
Besides, it becomes a risky task for a handful of Forest personnel to deal with the large number timber smugglers in the deep interior reserve forest areas of Kamrup West Forest Division.
It may be mentioned here that the number of Forest personnel deputed in the Forest beat offices located in inaccessible interior areas is not enough to deal with timber smugglers. These handful of Forest personnel in the beat offices in the interior areas have to petrol in several areas at a time to protect the forest cover in Kamrup West Forest Division. Therefore, the number of Forest personnel in the beat offices located in interior forest areas needs to be increased, sources added .
People have urged the Forest department to expedite its operation against timber smugglers in a bid to protect the Forest cover in Kamrup West Forest Division.
