Sonamura, Nov 29 (TIWN):Acting on a tip-off, a team headed jointly by the SDM Sonamura-Subhasis Das, ADFO Sadar-Subrata Das, and Coy Commander of Dhanpur BSF BOP-Anil Ranwa raided two locations, one at Bejimara near Sonamura town, and another at Garur Band area under Ghrantali Gram Panchayat of Mohanbhog R D Block, during which an illegal saw mill, and a high-power 16 HP generator, used to energize the saw mill was recovered.

This apart about 100 cft of rounded teak timber and 50 cft of non-teak timber was recovered. While the market value of the saw-mill is Rs.2 lakh, the generator is valued at Rs.1 lakh, and the seized timber is worth Rs.1.5 lakh. Collectively, the seized items are valued at Rs.4.50 lakh. The operation spanned about one and half hours, from 3 pm till 4.30 pm. Initially the raid-team, headed by the SDM Sonamura, searched the Bejimara area, from where about 100 cft rounded timber-logs was recovered, although the team could not locate the saw mill which was being used illegally to saw down such timbers into sized timbers.

SDM Sonamura, BSF seizd  illegal saw mill in a joint raid on Saturday. TIWN Pic Nov 29

The SDM Sonamura then interrogated some local persons and gained some vital leads about whereabouts of the saw mill. Based on the input, the raid team then proceeded to Garur Band area, and successfully located the saw mill after having conducted house-to-house search there for some time. It was learnt that the operatives of the clandestine saw mill had shifted the machine from Bejimara to Garur Band area, as soon as they came to know about the impending raid. From the writings on the body of the saw mill machine, it appears that the machine was built in “Sahah Amanat Engineering Works of Chittagong, Bangladesh”, and presumably, the machine had been brought into Bejimara area covertly across the Indo-Bangla border. Noticeably, on two other earlier occasions, first on 17 December, 2013, and again on 17 November this year, two such saw mills and generators, along with huge amount of illegal timber, were recovered from the same Bejimara area.

This is a pointer to the fact that Bejimara area has become a hub of illegal sawing activities that is playing havoc with the precious local forest resources, in the process ruining the forest and other vegetated areas and the delicate ecological balance. Reportedly, all the three saw mills seized during the course of the aforesaid three operations belong to a single group of owners, which underlines the fact that the illegal saw mill operation is so financially lucrative that even after successive seizures and consequent financial losses, the operators are not daunted to undertake similar ventures.