It’s operation ‘cycle seizure’ in the buffer area of the Palamu tiger reserve. In the past two weeks 14 cycles have been seized in order to save illegal felling of trees of the wildlife adobe.
Sources said the buffer personnel of the PTR are seizing cycles in the dead of night. On October 13 around one o clock at night DFO buffer Mahaling and his men pounced upon 5 cycles near Barwahi behind the labher security picket afoot a hill about 400 metres above the sea level there.
Mahaling has confirmed the seizure of 5 cycles but added the cyclists made good their escape. He said six cycles were seized last week. And three more were captured by the villagers of Heratu which Mahaling said ‘is a sign positive that villagers are now up in arms to save tiger reserve and its trees.’
On being asked as to what this operation cycle seizure means Mahaling said, “On cycles wood slippers are smuggled from the tiger reserve. First a tree is felled. Then slippers are made and then it is shipped by cycles.”
Mahaling has an interesting point to share with The Pioneer. “There are villages namely Amwatiker, Chahal, Chungru and laat where there are around 400 cycles which are used in this nefarious trade of smuggling of timber from the tiger reserve.”
Sources said villagers first choice here is a sturdy cycle than a bike! The trees that are felled most for slippers are Beeja. Sources said it is far easier to turn the timber into slipper and slipper is most convenient to carry on the cycles.
Sources said the timber smugglers have hit upon this mode of transportation for many reasons. First on seizure of cycle no claimant comes for it as there is no licence of cycle. Second a cycle is most easy to be hidden in shrubs and bushes. Further the cost of a cycle ranges between 2,500 to 3,000 which the smugglers bear as in one trip of smuggling of slippers their income is around 5,000 to 7,000 of rupees where except for labour there is no other investment and so it is no business of any loss.