A vehicle carrying charcoal of exotic Siya Nahar was seized by the forest department in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, the beat officer of Pathalipam Forest Beat under Lakhimpur Forest Division intercepted a mini truck carrying the charcoal in Padumani in Lakhimpur district in the early morning on Saturday.
One Dibyajyoti Sonowal of Bodhakora near North Lakhimpur town was detained along with the vehicle bearing registration No ASO7-BC-0254.
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He was carrying the charcoal from one Giya of Ukhamati along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border inside Dullung Reserve Forest.
The seizure of the charcoal reveals the continued felling of the exotic Siya Nahar and making charcoal inside the Dullung Reserve Forest in the Lakhimpur district for a long time.
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The endemic Siya Nahar (Mesua Assamica) trees are cut and burnt inside the forest by smugglers and this activity has been going on for a long period of time.
Siya Nahar is a notified ‘Threatened Species’ in Assam under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (18 of 203).
The charcoal of Siya Nahar has a great demand in the black market.
Earlier, the Lakhimpur forest range office seized a huge amount of cane stocked for sale in a house at Rajgarh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Thursday.
Ceremonial distribution of cheques under Prarthana Scheme:
The ceremonial distribution of cheques to the beneficiaries under Prarthana scheme was held at the conference hall of the deputy commissioner’s office in North Lakhimpur on Saturday.
Sanjay Kishan, minister of Tea Tribe and Welfare and Guardian Minister of Lakhimpur district, distributed the cheques to the beneficiaries under Prarthana scheme.
Lakhimpur deputy commissioner Sumit Sattawan and other dignitaries were present at the distribution ceremony.
Eleven beneficiaries were presented with the cheques at the ceremony by the minister while the rest will be distributed at various circle offices of the district.