PARADIP: The ongoing lockdown has given the timber mafia a golden opportunity to rob the Paradip coast of its green cover.Taking advantage of lax vigilance by the Forest department and availability of ample manpower, timber mafia have been relentlessly chopping thousands of Casuarina trees on the coast.
Paradip and neighbouring Kujang and Erasama blocks are vulnerable to natural catastrophes like cyclone, flood, tsunami and heat wave.
In order to counter such threats and to prevent entry of saline water into residential areas, the Paradip Port Trust in collaboration with the Forest department had planted Casuarina trees on around 10 acre land near Bali Yatra ground on the coast. Casuarina forests help act as a natural barrier and help prevent soil erosion and tidal surges. The forest on the coast is also popular among picnickers. However, no tourists have been visiting the beach for the last more than one month owing to the lockdown.
Taking advantage of the lack of any human movement or monitoring, the local timber mafia has chopped down thousands of trees from the forest. Workers including women, hit by the lockdown have been engaged, by the miscreants in the task.
Locals said around 5,000 Casuarina trees were chopped by the mafia and this poses a grave risk to villages like Sandhakuda, Noliasahi and other residential areas of the town. Kujang Forest Ranger Pratap Mohanty said the Forest department has seized a few Casuarina trees cut down by the mafia and cases have been registered. He said two forest guards have been deployed at the forest to prevent such instances in future.