Assam: Posts meant for Golden Langur safety bridges stolen by miscreants, environmentalists file complaint

In an incident that has triggered widespread outrage among environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts, miscreants have allegedly stolen construction materials meant for building hanging bridges designed to protect the endangered Golden Langur in Assam’s forested landscape.

The theft occurred in areas adjoining the Kakoijana Reserved Forest, where authorities had initiated the construction of additional hanging bridges to facilitate the safe movement of the rare primate across forest patches divided by infrastructure corridors.

According to sources, a total of six posts had been brought to the area to construct two new hanging bridges intended to enable the golden langurs to cross safely between fragmented sections of the forest. Of these, three posts were stored at Kadamtola and the remaining three at Naya Bhawriyapara within the forest vicinity.

However, during the night of March 3, unidentified miscreants allegedly stole three of the posts — two from Kadamtola and one from Naya Bhawriyapara — derailing the ongoing conservation initiative.

The incident has sparked strong reactions from conservationists, who have described the act as a serious blow to efforts aimed at protecting one of the world’s rarest primates. The golden langur, found mainly in select pockets of western Assam and adjoining Bhutan, is considered highly vulnerable due to habitat fragmentation and road-related threats.

Following the incident, nature enthusiast Bikram Ranjan Roy lodged a First Information Report at the Uttar Salmara Police Outpost, urging authorities to investigate the theft and recover the stolen materials.

Conservation initiatives in the region have previously included the construction of six hanging bridges across a four-lane National Highway through Kakoijana Reserved Forest, allowing golden langurs to cross safely from one side of the forest to the other without descending onto busy roads.

The materials that were stolen were intended for building two additional bridges under an initiative launched during the tenure of former Bongaigaon Deputy Commissioner Navdeep Pathak, aimed at strengthening wildlife safety infrastructure in the region.

Environmentalists have now called for swift action against those responsible and stronger monitoring around conservation projects, warning that such acts could undermine ongoing efforts to safeguard the fragile habitat of the iconic golden langur.