Carts carrying illegal timber being destroyed in Chirang

March 24: The audacious timber and wildlife mafia that operated with elan right under the nose of an ill-equipped security apparatus in Chirang forest division is finally getting a taste of being “hunted”.

“We have been able to bring down the illegalities by 80 per cent in the last couple of years, but how long we can sustain this is the moot question, considering the challenges,” Brahmananda Patiri, divisional forest officer of Chirang forest division, said.

It is a tough task, considering the daily raids that need to be conducted.

“We have to travel 100km on an average to conduct raids and the job is not without risks,” Patiri said.

If the raids are not well timed, it could backfire.

Patiri claims that the situation has undergone a sea change though, with the timber and wildlife mafia living in fear rather than the brazenness with which it operated till a few years ago.

“They (the mafia) are in great fear and run on seeing us,” Patiri said.

A number of non-governmental organisations is also supporting the cause.

A large number of carts and timber were seized and destroyed recently.

“We have to be tough, otherwise we cannot catch the culprits,” Patiri said, adding that about a dozen armed staff helping in the endeavour.

The frequent sight of wood being carted away say that a lot more is still left to be done, said forest authorities.

Chirang forest division has 509 square km under it, of which 109 square km has been encroached upon.

There has been massive deforestation in the entire Bodoland Territorial Council area over the past few years.

Besides the huge cost of conducting raids, the Chirang forest division is also dogged with staff crunch.

Chirang does not have a Assam Forest Protection Force dedicated to it and depends on the CRPF and SSB personnel, who work in shifts.