GUWAHATI: Assam Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on Thursday, July 16, visited Biswanath district following an alleged firing incident on forest personnel inside the Behali Reserve Forest, amid rising tensions along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
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The minister arrived in the district to assess the situation on the ground after armed miscreants, allegedly from Arunachal Pradesh, reportedly opened fire on officials of the Assam Forest Department who were attempting to stop alleged illegal construction inside the protected forest.
According to reports, nearly 50 rounds were fired at the forest team as they intervened to prevent the construction of houses allegedly being built within the reserve forest. No casualties have been reported, but the incident has raised serious concerns over the safety of frontline forest staff and the growing challenge of protecting border forests.
Soon after reaching the Biswanath Circuit House, Baruah chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials from the Forest and Police Departments to review the law-and-order situation and discuss the next course of action.
As part of his visit, the minister is scheduled to inspect Dhikal Camp in Behali, where he will interact with personnel of the Borgang Range and assess sites where alleged tree felling, forest clearing and encroachment have been reported. He will also visit Radhasoo Camp to meet battalion personnel and review security arrangements in the sensitive border region.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department has recovered several empty cartridges from the site of the firing, and an investigation has been launched to identify those responsible.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns over alleged encroachment and illegal activities in Assam's border forests.
Spread over nearly 157.25 square kilometres in Biswanath district, Behali Reserve Forest has been under protection since 1917. In 2022, the Assam government issued a preliminary notification to upgrade it into a wildlife sanctuary. The forest serves as a crucial wildlife corridor linking Nameri and Kaziranga National Parks and shares its northern boundary with the Papum Reserve Forest in Arunachal Pradesh, making it one of the state's most ecologically important and strategically sensitive forest areas.