Two illegal saw mills busted, sawn timber seized

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: The forest officials at Mangaldai under North Kamrup Forest Division busted two saw-mills, seized a smuggled timber-laden vehicle and recovered illegally sawn timber worth Rs. 4 lakh.

This seizure has been termed as a major achievement for the forest officials in the district. According to information, newly-joined Forest Beat Officer Debabrata Sarma of Mangaldai Forest Beat Office, acting on a tip-off, conducted a massive operation in Lalpul and Kopati area of the district recently and seized two illegal saw mills of which one was owned by Khaibar Ali of Lalpul and the other by Sarafat Ali of Bagichakash in Kopati area. Besides the seizure of the illegal saw mills, the forest officials also seized sawn timber. The team also intercepted a Tata DI vehicle bearing registration number AS 25 DC 3450 at Panbari area and recovered valuable teak timbers worth Rs. One lakh and seized the vehicle. Meanwhile, Beat Officer Debabrata Sarma has also lodged an FIR at Dalgaon Police Station in this regard. However, the gang of timber smugglers managed to escape before the arrival of the forest team.

A section of forest employees here in Mangaldai have been maintaining an unholy nexus with the organized gang of timber smugglers and illegal saw mills. Taking a serious note of it, Divisional Forest Officer of North Kamrup Division Dipak Deka strictly instructed the forest officials to take a tough stand against such anti-social criminal elements. The forest officials here in Mangaldai have also initiated strict vigilance on the movement of trucks, dumpers and even tractors carrying sand, stone and other minerals without obtaining required documents and papers.

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