PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Haldwani
In a major crackdown on illegal timber smuggling, the Terai East Forest Division conducted a joint raid at a warehouse in Baheri, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday and seized around 25 cubic metres of valuable khair timber and logs.
Informing this, the divisional forest officer (DFO) Himanshu Bagri said that the action had followed the intelligence inputs his department had been receiving over the past several days regarding illegal felling of khair trees from different forest areas of Uttarakhand, adding that the timber had been stockpiled at a warehouse in Baheri before being transported for illegal trade.
Acting on the information, a special team was constituted under the DFO’s directions. The team carried out surveillance and verified the inputs through technical and field intelligence before launching the raid at around 6 AM on Saturday.
During the operation, the team officials recovered approximately 25 cubic metres of khair timber and logs from the warehouse. The warehouse operator was found absconding and no person was present at the premises during the raid.
A forest offence has been registered against unidentified persons under the appropriate provisions of the Indian Forest Act. The seized timber was later transported in three pickup vehicles and a truck to the Gaula range under the Terai East Forest division, where it has been kept in safe custody after completion of legal formalities.
Senior Forest officers said that the department has launched a search for the warehouse operator and is investigating the entire network involved in the illegal felling and smuggling of khair timber.
Bagri said that protection of Uttarakhand’s forest wealth remains the department’s top priority and that similar enforcement drives against forest crimes and timber smuggling will continue in the future.
