TURA: In an attempt to contain the menace of illegal timber smuggling taking place in the Garo Hills region, state forest teams with active support from the district administration, including police, launched an operation targeting the hub of the illegal trade in the plains belt region leading to the seizure of machinery and closing down of as many as six illegal sawmills that was in operation.
Teams of the district level special task force committee along with forest and police personnel, on Monday, raided Chibinang area of Phulbari, which is the hub of the illegal timber trade.
The teams were able to locate as many as six saw mills all along the Bhaitbari to Chibinang route and confiscated chain saws, motors and other equipment used in the mills. A large number of freshly cut timber was also found in the saw mills and later confiscated.
Forest officials launched the operation in the area because of reports about the presence of as many as forty illegal sawmills having been set up in people’s houses and interior areas by timber smugglers to cut the forest produce smuggled from the reserve forests of Garo Hills.
The Chibinang area is the centre of the illegal timber trade because of its close proximity to the border with neighbouring Assam and countless number of illegal trucks have been passing through the route even in broad daylight with the forest produce for sale in the neighbouring state. The presence of a GHADC Forest Check gate in the area has failed to halt the trade.
“We raided 6 illegally operating saw mills in the area which included Haribhanga, Bholarbhita, Katmil and Ghumaijhora. A huge quantity of illegal timber along with machinery for cutting timber, were seized from each depot,” informed forest officials.
The Forest officials stated that the current raid was a surprise as unlike previous episodes, the current raid was actually assisted by locals.
“Earlier when we went to raid such areas (5 years ago), there was a ‘gherao’ operation by locals. This time the youth came forward to support us. It just shows that the youth are more aware about environmental losses,” said DFO Sachin Gavade, who spearheaded the operation.
He also pointed out that confusion over the Assam – Meghalaya boundary point was causing problems and aiding in the creation of illegal saw mills.
Earlier this year, the same task force had carried on raids along the Bhaitbari area where they were able to shut down a similar number of illegal saw mills around the area.