Chainsaw-fuelled timber smuggling alarms Kamrup, forests face rapid depletion

Amingaon, Nov 8: Timber smugglers are increasingly using battery-powered chainsaws for illegal tree felling in forest as well as non-forest areas of Kamrup district, posing fresh challenges for Forest staff.

Talking to this correspondent, a Forest official said,“The use of chainsaws for chopping tree by timber smugglers has become a very serious matter.”

Being portable, handheld, and easily available in the market, these machines serve the nefarious designs of the smugglers well.

After felling the trees, the logs are transported within minutes. “Right from felling standing trees to delimbing and bucking, everything is done within minutes,” he said.

The improved road network has also made the transportation of logs easy for the smugglers.

Unlike handsaw, cutting a tree with a chainsaw is quite easy and not time-consuming. “Gone are the days when smugglers used to saw logs manually on raised platforms, which was an arduous and time-consuming job for them,” said a forest dweller, adding that chainsaws are creating hurdles in efforts to protect and conserve forests.

Sources said that since smugglers are taking advantage of the developed road network, construction of new road should not be allowed inside forest areas.

“No new road should be constructed inside forests except developing the existing roads as multiple roads could become a boon for the smugglers,” the Forest officer said.

As many as 36 illegal timber-laden vehicles were seized in the last one year in areas under the jurisdiction of Kamrup West Forest division. Besides one bench saw mill and 18 chainsaw machines were also seized during this period.

What is even worse is that trees in the non-forest areas are also not being spared by the timber smugglers.