Destructive Smuggling Threatens Assam’s Elephants: Forest Officials Under Fire for Inaction
Smuggling activities are posing a severe threat to Assam’s reserve forests in the West Kamrup Division, with local residents alleging both negligence and complicity from forest officials. The Bondapara range has witnessed extensive illegal soil excavation and deforestation, sparking outrage among villagers and district authorities.
The alarming situation was brought to light by residents from the Sukuniapara and Boripara areas, who reported ongoing destruction and accused smugglers of unlawfully removing soil and trees from protected forest land. In a troubling revelation, Deputy Range Officer Bhairab Chandra Sharma could not produce any legitimate documents permitting soil excavation in the reserve. While Sharma acknowledged the smuggling activities, he leaned on expired and incomplete mining permits as justification. This claim was dismissed by District Forest Officer (DFO) Subodh Talukdar, who confirmed that the documents in question do not authorize any legitimate mining within the reserve.
Adding further gravity to the allegations, Boripara village headman Jagdish Rabha suggested that forest officials had overlooked several warnings issued by locals regarding illegal operations. “We suspect their involvement. The people here feel helpless against the smugglers, facing threats and potential violence,” Rabha asserted. He further noted that illegal sand extraction operations near the Singra River in Dekapara are allegedly being conducted with the tacit approval of forest officials.
In response to these alarming developments, villagers from Boripara and neighboring communities have urgently appealed to Kamrup District’s Guardian Minister and Assam’s Forest Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, for a thorough investigation and rigorous action against the individuals involved.
A concerned villager from Bondapara expressed an even more dire outlook, describing the forest division as an entity that has shifted from protector to perpetrator. “Each day, 3-7 logs are transported from Bondapara to the banks of the Brahmaputra, while human-elephant conflicts remain unaddressed. Smugglers operate fearlessly, and the government is losing crores in revenue, while the local population suffers from rising prices,” he said.
With DFO Talukdar now witnessing the illegal soil removal firsthand, residents are tentatively optimistic that decisive action will finally be taken. The affected area holds ecological significance, serving as a crucial corridor for wild elephants, and faces not just environmental degradation but escalating tensions among communities vulnerable to both wildlife encounters and criminal threats.
As this situation unfolds, the collective hope among villagers is that authorities will recognize the urgent tone of their pleas and take necessary steps to protect both the environment and the integrity of local communities.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/video/smugglers-ravage-assams-elephant-corridor-forest-officials-accused-of-turning-a-blind-eye-1207486-2025-05-01?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2025-05-01 19:54:00
