Dhubri, June 11: There has been no let-up in the illegal timber trade in Dhubri district, despite the ban on cutting of trees and transportation of logs.
Hand-sawn timber is openly sold in the weekly market at Fulkatari village under the Panbari forest range, which has been severely hit by the illegal trade. There are hardly any trees left in the Panbari reserve forest because of rampant lumbering over the past five years.
The few remaining reserve and unclassified forests in the district are under the control of the timber mafia, which rules the jungles and supplies valuable trees to the local markets and Bangladesh.
There are nearly 30 villages where people are engaged in illegal timber trade. Sources said members of the rich timber mafia in the Alomganj area are armed with sophisticated weapons.
The Border Security Force often seizes the logs coming through the river route. However, hand-sawn timber is supplied to Dhubri, Gauripur, Bilasipara without any restriction.
A survey revealed that in just a year’s time, there were 103 types of new reinforced wood for windows and doors. Of this, only 5,050 CFT wood was sold to local customers by the sawmills in Dhubri. The illegal market, surrounding Alamganj near Panbari in the district, supplied the rest of the required wood.
A forest official admitted the department’s inefficiency in dealing with timber smugglers. “It is not a heroic deed to seize timber from a smuggler because it ultimately goes back to the same smuggler when auctioned,” he said. Two foresters under Dhubri forest division have been put under suspension following the seizure of a truckload of teak (sisu) logs worth Rs 8 lakh. Sources said the activists of Nature’s Friends Society, an NGO, informed the authorities about the truck.
Power tariff hike: The Tripura government has decided to increase 35 per cent power tariff from July 1, official sources said in Agartala on Wednesday, reports PTI.
The charge of one unit of power for domestic consumption has been increased from Rs 1.10 to Rs 1.50 per unit. There has been no hike in tariff for irrigation purpose.
