[ Bengia Ajum ]
MIAO, 15 Nov: In a major act of arson, a group of miscreants, comprising around 50 people, set ablaze all seven government buildings of the beat forest office of the Kamala valley beat in the 25 Mile area, along the Miao-Vijaynagar road inside the Namdapha National Park & Tiger Reserve in Changlang district at around 1:30 am on Sunday.
While six SP type buildings were reduced to ashes, one RCC building was partially burnt. All the government items, including a Godrej cupboard, an inverter, a walkie-talkie, battery, etc, were also burnt, along with personal belongings of the staff, including three motorcycles, mobile phones, clothes, etc.
The local forest officials have lodged an FIR at the police station here.
Speaking to this daily, forest department officials alleged that some people of the Yobin tribe, who have illegally settled inside the park, were behind the arson.
“We have been regularly conducting eviction drives against illegal settlement inside the park area. In recent months, 11 illegal settlers have been evicted from the 40 Mile area (Burma Nallah), and now the area is completely free from encroachment,” they said.
“The last eviction drive was carried out on 11 November, when the residential structure of one Chomatu Yobin (self-proclaimed GB of 40 Mile area) was dismantled. This arson act looks like an attempt to scare the forest officials and disrupt the work,” the officials said.
This is not the first time that illegal settlers inside the national park have created obstacles for the forest officials.
“On 16 October too, our staffers were stopped from performing their duty at 40 Mile, along the Miao-Vijaynagar road. Our staffers were confined for more than three hours and were not allowed to perform government duty. Then, too, an FIR had been lodged at the Miao police station,” they added.
In December 2020, protesters had set on fire several government offices in Vijaynagar. The old EAC office, the post office, the old police station and the SIB office were allegedly set on fire by protesters.
