AGARTALA, Feb 3 (TIWN): Despite of several initiatives taken, the rampant felling of timber trees in various forest region of Tripura belt by smugglers, the Forest Department has failed to curb the ‘green gold’ loot and to challenge the smugglers.

Reportedly, the timber smuggling issues are mostly performed at night in various interior parts of the state at large scale. Allegedly, there are some police, forest range other security forces, making hefty profit out of this business.

However, the timber smuggling has been alarmingly increasing assuring deforestation in the state.

Recently, a group of smugglers of timber wood managed to fled away after they were caught red handed while smuggling 100 ft teak wood on four boats at Nutan Bazaar.

According to the report, deforestation mostly hits over the Northern sector of the Forest Department like the Kumarghat area, Kanchanpur, Jumpui hill, Monu and various other places. Further, it has been alleged that the timber businessman who want to sell the timber legally, could not able to acquire profit out of it due to the excessive road charges of the Forest department.

The illegal trade through the unfenced border areas though not new totally but it has increased just before the puja fervour.

The Indo-Bangladesh border is highly leaky making the illegal movement of smugglers and goods a regular affair.

The territory and the demographic composition of the border area made it favourable for Bangladeshis to sneak into India and also to get easily assimilated with the local masses.

It is a matter of worry that despite of strict security in the various part of the state, including timber, the ganja smuggling has also been continuing.

The smuggling is going on along the India-Bangladesh border where security has been tightened to curb the illegal trade.

On one hand where the deforestation hits over the state, allegedly on the other hand various expensive saplings are decomposing at the Forest Department shedding dark cloud over the state.