Siliguri, July 22: The forest department will soon be setting up a permanent checkpost at Sukna in a bid to reduce the frequency of timber smuggling in the area.

“We have information that a section of smugglers engaged in illegal felling and transportation of logs from the hills are using new routes,” said forest minister Ananta Roy during a visit to the Sukna rest house two days ago. “It has thus been decided to establish a forest checkpost at Sukna to check smuggling.”

The recent incidents of leopard death — both adults and cubs — in confrontations with residents of tea estates in north Bengal has also prompted the forest department to plan an intensive awareness campaign on the issue in the gardens soon.

“We are thinking of launching the programme in the gardens of the Terai and the Dooars, where leopards sneak in to give birth to cubs and rear them before returning to the forest,” Roy said.

Referring to two incidents of man-animal conflict in the past one month, the minister said the trend points to an increase in leopard population in the region.

“Nevertheless, the practice of catching leopard cubs and killing adult ones should be stopped. Sneaking into tea gardens to rear cubs had been an old practice of leopards and we need to make the residents aware of this so that they refrain from any provocation,” he said.

The department, which has 1,000-odd casual workers serving as forest watchers, plans to increase the permanent posts by 600 at least.