Eight people were arrested during the operation. (Representative)
Itanagar:
The sighting of a tiger near a human habitation outside Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has revealed illegal timber depots in the core area of the park, a senior district official said.
In January this year, a Royal Bengal tiger was caught on camera near Debon Forest Inspection Bungalow. This was the second tiger seen in Namdapha after a gap of eight years.
During an operation carried out by a joint team of the administration and the forest department to find out why a tiger moved out of the core area after 2015, large-scale timber smuggling was detected inside the national park.
Namdapha National Park in Changlang district, near the international border with Myanmar, covers an area of 1,985 km² including a core area of 1,808 km² and a buffer zone of 177 km².
On March 14, a team led by Changlang Deputy Commissioner Sunny K Singh found several illegal timber depots in the core area of the park.
Singh said the timber smugglers had also dug 20 kilometers of unpaved roads in and around the core area of the park.
Of the motorable road, which is suitable only for small trucks, 1-2 km of it falls inside the park while the rest of the stretch is in its buffer zone.
The DC said that wood based industries operate legally in Changlang district. Singh said the forest department issues permits to cut trees by setting a quota and the mills manufacture veneer and plywood and then export it from the district.
“The problem is that people involved in the timber business cut trees in excess of the prescribed quota. They also constructed a road to the core area in the national park and resorted to illegal felling of trees and extracted timber from inside the park since November. Last year.
“It was a difficult operation and the smugglers made it more difficult by blocking our way with logs. However, our team members showed exceptional strength and cleared the way,” Singh told PTI on Saturday.
A district official, on the condition of anonymity, said it was difficult to understand how smugglers carried out such “large-scale illegal activities” under the very nose of forest department officials.
The administration directed the forest officials to ensure strict monitoring of all suspicious areas adjacent to Namdapha and take strict action against smugglers.
Eight people were arrested during the operation.
The team also seized an excavator, a pick-up and two trucks loaded with wood. Mr Singh said another excavator and two trucks were found abandoned in the forest. The DC said that two persons, one from Arunachal Pradesh and the other from Assam, were on the run and arrest warrants had been issued against them.
The DC said the sighting of a Royal Bengal tiger near Debon Inspection Bungalow in January after eight years was not a mere coincidence.
He attributed this to habitat destruction due to timber smuggling in the catchment area of Mapen Nala – a perennial stream.
“Due to deforestation, the catchment area of Empen Nala has dried up. It is a source of water for the animals of Namdapha as well as the residents of Miao sub-division. If there is a shortage of water, there will definitely be man-animal conflict. ” Singh said.
As per preliminary estimates, more than 2,000 CFT (cubic feet) of timber was found lying at several illegal depots along the way.
“The administration is fully committed to the conservation of the rich flora and fauna of the national park. We will go to all possible lengths within the law to preserve its sanctity,” Singh said.
Namdapha National Park with various exotic flora and fauna species is the only place where the four big cats – tiger, leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard – are found.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)