Arunachal-Assam To Combat Illegal Timber Trade

In the wake of increasing illegal movement of timber, a meeting was held in Tezpur on Monday among the territorial forest divisions (FD) of the Khellong and Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh and Sonitpur of Assam to keep a check on the trade.

A protocol was adopted by establishing coordination between the border forest divisions of Assam and Arunachal to check the illegal movement of timber and share intelligence and inputs on suspects involved in illegal timber trade, an official release stated.

"It will help in curbing illegal timber transportation under fake transit passes," Khellong Divisional Forest Officer (DFOs) VK Jawal informed in a release.

The DFOs of Bhalukpong and Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh will share details of the transit pass books with their counterparts in Sonitpur and Udalguri in Assam to curb illegal transportation of timber using fake transit passes.

Furthermore, the boarding forest division will form a WhatsApp group to facilitate instant share of information, while, the range officers of the border divisions will carry joint patrolling to check the illegalities, the release added.