Timber smugglers issue life threat to nature conservationists

Our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, July 7: Two youths and social activists on Friday filed a petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Kokrajhar, Niranjan Baruah and Superintendent of Police of Kokrajhar, Rajen Singh seeking safety and security as they received life threats from timber smugglers at Bhuban Nagar area under Fakiragram PS in Kokrajhar district.

The youths, identified as Ratan Chandra Barman and Subur Khan, filed the petition to the SP and sought security for their lives. They reiterated that the smugglers Samiruddin Sheik and Tapazul Hussein had threatened them with dire consequence.

Talking to reporters, Ratan Chandra Barman and Subur Khan, social activists and nature lovers of village Bhuban Nagar under Fakiragram police station said first they informed the Fakiragram forest office and officer under Kachugaon Forest Division regarding the illegal timber saw mills being run and timbers smuggling in Jogdwi area under Fakiragram police station but the forest staff and forest officers turned a blind eye. They said the department officials had not done anything despite the fact that they had lodged complaint to seize the machines in the illegal saw mills and to contain the timber smugglers. Instead, both the youths received life threats from the timber smugglers and they suspect that some of the forest department officers could be hands-in-glove with the smugglers.

The duo said that sal, gambari and segun trees were being cut illegally in various reserve forests and saw mills were being run in Jogdwi areas like Kaspara, Mamunigaon, Pratabkhata and Bhuban Nagar under Fakiragram PS and the chopped logs were transported to Dhubri and others parts of Assam. The valuable timber is illegally brought from Kachugaon reserve forest and Tipkai reserve forest.