Protect reserve forests from encroachers

The forest officials of the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve recently evicted encroachers from inside the park. The effort of the forest department is well appreciated. But it should be a continuous process. The department should keep an eye on the situation and make sure that the encroachers do not return to the same place. Besides Namdapha, several other important wildlife sanctuaries and forest reserves of Arunachal Pradesh are facing threat from encroachers. Near the Namdapha, there lie the Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary and the Manabum and Tengapani forest reserves.

These areas are also facing serious threats from encroachers. Especially Manabum and Tengapani forest reserves are losing forest cover day by day due to relentless encroachment activities. The department of environment and forests, along with the Namsai and the Changlang district administrations, has miserably failed to protect these areas. Today a large number of illegal migrants have settled down in these areas. They are destroying the rich natural resources and contributing to global warming. Also, illegal felling of trees for timber purposes is also going on. It is time that the state government started taking strong action against illegal settlers encroaching on the Manabum and Tengapani forest reserves. Also, the forest department is failing to stop illegal timber operation across Arunachal Pradesh.