From Our Kokrajhar Bureau
Kokrajhar (Assam),May 10 : The All Bodo Students Union(ABSU) has expressed serious concern over the illegal cutting & feeling of valuable Sal and other expensive full grown trees under Haltugaon forest division in Kokrajhar district,demanded strict measures to check and control of deforestation in the region.
A four – member delegation team from Kokrajhar district unit of the All Bodo Students Union met Principal Secretary of BTC Siddhartha Singh on Friday and submitted a memorandum seeking strict steps to check and control the illegally cutting of Sal and other valuable trees inside the deep forest areas in Kokrajhar district.
In a press statement, Swmdwn Brahma,general secretary of Kokrajhar district unit ABSU said that since (24 March, 2020) the commencement of nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak it has been learnt from various reliable local sources that a large scale illegal cutting & felling of Sal and other expensive full grown trees at Ultapani villiage under Ultapaniforest range and Athiabri forest range area in Haltugaon division in Kokrajhar district.
He has alleged that the timber mafias and smugglers have been taking advantage of COVID-19 lockdown where no human movement is available around the targeted place of jungle, this act of cuting and felling of tress is being carried out in a huge scale , by some suspected people belonging to neighboring Chirang dstrict.
“This is quite noteworthy that though forest is the transferred subject in BTC administration, the local forest department has not been able to control such destruction of forest areas in an effective way.
“The students union has made an appeal to the principal secretary of the BTC to look in to the matter and take necessary steps to control the destruction of the said forest area for the interest of environment and wild animals”, Brahma added.
