Villagers rue timber smuggling via old roads

TURA: There appears no end to the illegal felling of trees and smuggling of timber in the Garo Hills region with criminals taking advantage of old roads that once was the lifeline connecting East Garo Hills to the West.
It has been revealed that criminals fell trees in the Songsak and Rongjeng region and to avoid detection, they use the Samanda to Rongsak old road to enter West Garo Hills at Asanang before heading for the plain belt areas of Chibinang and beyond.
“At times, there is a lot of activity on this road (Samanda to Rongsak and Selbalgre) with many Mahindra pick-up vehicles crossing at night with timbers camouflaged with plastic sheets. Normally, it is very rare to see passing vehicles even in the daytime,” mentioned villagers along this route.
Ever since the new highway connecting Tura to Williamnagar through Jengjal got operational a few years back, almost 90 per cent of vehicles have stopped plying on the old road.
A majority of commuters stopped using the route due to its dilapidated condition with no fresh repairs having taken place. Seizing this opportunity, criminals and smugglers have been making use of the road to pass through their consignment undetected.
It is another matter that once they are on the main road, bribes are paid to those who man the points to pass through.
Village sources from Songsak region revealed that illegal timbers pass through Kera in Songsak, a place which even has a forest check gate, before entering the Samanda old road.
Kera is located on the road that heads up to Songsak and Rongjeng reserves, which are the last bastions of green cover.
Although seizure of illegal timber does take place, there is concern that a majority of it is passing through undetected due to those deputed with checking such activity turning a blind eye.