Timber-laden vehicles seized, illegal timber business on the rise

DIGBOI, Dec 25: A group of local youths, in association with forest personnel at Kakopather under Doomdooma forest division in Tinsukia district, held two sawn timber-laden 709 trucks bearing registration number AS06AC -0252 and AS01CC - 4675 on Sunday morning. According to local NGOs, there were four vehicles when apprehended at Kakopather but only two vehicles laden with illegally procured timber were brought under the custody of the forest department.

 Meanwhile, the DFO Doomdoma who was in Guwahati when contacted, told the reporter  that four vehicles were seized in all because none of them had any valid documents. Surprisingly, only two vehicles were found in the DFO campus. However, addressing the media, Debojit Moran and Bijay Gogoi, the secretary and president of Evergreen Foundation and Evergreen Buds Society respectively, alleged that the timber mafias had been shamelessly exploiting the green cover at various ranges under Doomdoma Division, besides carrying on illegal inter-State timber business under the nose of the Forest Department.

 Meanwhile, a forest department employee told this reporter that no arrest was made to this effect till the filing of this report. “We held two vehicles only while the other two escaped under the cover of fog,” he added. Despite strong regular official communication from the Ministry of Forest urging DFOs to initiate  stringent action against smugglers and miscreants involved in anti-forest activities, the act continues ubated in the entire district.