Timber seized in Arunachal

Itanagar: Forest officials in Arunachal Pradesh have seized more than 800 timber logs from East Kameng district reportedly felled by timber smugglers from neighbouring Assam. The logs were seized on Saturday during a drive against illegal timber operation in the area, official sources said here Sunday.
No arrest was made in this connection. The drive was conducted by forest officials of Seijosa range, Special Task Force (STF), Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary, police personnel, Dibru Village Forest Development Council (DuVFDC) along with panchayat leaders in view of illegal timber activities being carried out by some miscreants purportedly from Assam in Goloso, Jolly, Lanka areas under Seijosa in the district, sources said.
Meanwhile, DuVFDC claimed that the timber mafias from Assam got support from some influential local persons to carry out the illegitimate trade. During the drive it was found that an unrecorded road via Goloso river was being used by the timber mafias for transporting timbers from said areas to Assam.
Heavy vehicles for carrying timbers were being plied through this road without the knowledge of any of the concerned departments on the Arunachal side. (PTI)