Smugglers ravage Assam’s elephant corridor, forest officials accused of turning a blind eye

Smuggling activities have emerged as a grave threat to Assam’s reserve forests in West Kamrup Division, with locals alleging the direct involvement and negligence of forest officials. Rampant illegal soil excavation and deforestation within the Bondapara range have drawn sharp reactions from villagers and district authorities.

The matter came to light when residents of Sukuniapara and Boripara areas exposed the ongoing destruction, accusing smugglers of cutting soil and trees from protected forest land. 

In a startling development, Deputy Range Officer Bhairab Chandra Sharma failed to produce valid documents authorizing soil excavation in the reserve area. Though Sharma acknowledged the smuggling activities, he attempted to justify them using expired and incomplete mining permits. District Forest Officer (DFO) Subodh Talukdar of West Kamrup also admitted that the documents in question do not validate any legal mining within the reserve.

Adding to the allegations, Boripara village headman Jagdish Rabha claimed that forest officials had ignored multiple warnings from locals about the illegal operations. "We suspect their involvement. People here cannot resist the smugglers—they face threats and potential attacks," Rabha said. He further revealed that, apart from soil mining, illegal sand extraction is also rampant near the Singra River in Dekapara, allegedly under the cover of forest officials.

Villagers from Boripara and adjoining areas have now sought urgent intervention from Kamrup District’s Guardian Minister and Assam’s Forest Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, demanding a full investigation and stringent action against those responsible.

A villager from Bondapara painted an even grimmer picture, likening the forest division to an agency that has turned from protector to perpetrator. "Every day, 3-7 logs are transported from Bondapara to Brahmaputra banks while human-elephant conflicts remain unaddressed. Smugglers act without fear, and the government loses crores in revenue while common people bear the brunt through price hikes," he said.

With DFO Talukdar now directly witnessing the illegal soil cutting, locals are cautiously hopeful that decisive action will follow. The affected area, critical as a wild elephant corridor, faces not only ecological loss but also rising tension among communities vulnerable to wildlife and criminal threats.