Even as World Environment Day was being observed with enthusiasm across the region from Siliguri to Sikkim on Thursday, two major timber smuggling incidents came to light, prompting action from forest and railway authorities.
Acting on a tip-off, a forest official from the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary arrested two individuals, Vishal Rai and Sailen Rai, and seized a large quantity of sal and segun timber logs intended for smuggling.
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In a separate incident the same day, the Government Railway Police (GRP), also acting on a tip-off, recovered a significant number of Burmese timber logs from nearly five parcel vans of the parcel van express train (PVET) when it arrived at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station late in the morning.
The recovery of such a large volume of timber with no known claimant has raised serious questions regarding the role of the railway department and the growing sophistication of timber smuggling operations.
Preliminary inquiries have revealed that AVG Logistics, a third-party logistics provider, had hired the PVET for transporting various items. The train was coming from Guwahati. As the matter came to light, railway authorities launched a primary investigation and decided to seek clarification from AVG Logistics.
An official at Maligaon, the headquarters of the Northeast Frontier Railway, said: “AVG Logistics hired the train. That organisation is responsible for the consignment. There is no direct railway involvement. However, it is true that there were no papers for the timber. Railway authorities will seek clarification from the organisation regarding this serious lapse.”
Interestingly, following the intervention of railway authorities, the GRP has not yet issued any official press note on the recovery of the Burmese timber logs.