Wood smugglers are involved in mindless tree felling in different parts of Tripura. To stop the menace of the smugglers, Forest Department of Tripura came out with Forest Protection Team. However, the Team is yet to be able to curb wood smuggling, at least in Kalyanpur area under Khowai district in Tripura.
Unscrupulous timber merchant and wood smugglers are active in Kalyanpur and surrounding areas while local Forest department is handicapped with manpower shortage and Forest Protection Team is yet to be considered as a major force to reckon with by the wood smugglers. As a result, forest cover is receding in Kalyanpur and in adjoining areas and ecological as well as environmental aspects in Kalyanpur are in peril, local sources said.
“Almost every day, wood smugglers are cutting down precious trees and are smuggling out those wood logs. Several illegal Sawmills were set up. However, neither the Forest Department nor the Police personnel is able to arrest the kingpins and stop such rampant tree felling”, alleged Kalyanpur based Gopal Saha and Gopal was well supported by several others.
“The rate at which wood smugglers are operating, Forest areas in Kalyanpur are at serious risk”, local sources said. Eastern side of Khowai River is the den of wood smuggling activities and several illegal sawmills are operating in that area.
When contacted, Forest officials cited manpower shortage as the main problem in dealing with smugglers.
“There are three staff in Kalyanpur Forest Department including one guard. How can Forest department personnel deal with highly organized wood smugglers?”, commented one Forest official on condition of anonymity.
It is learnt, the Forest department can conducts raids against wood smugglers only when Police support is available.
Forest Protection Team operates from Teliamura and conducts raids – however, intermittent raids is not enough to stop the desperate wood smugglers.