Kendrapara (Odisha), Feb 25: Forest department personnel have taken two persons into custody on charge of causing destruction to mangrove trees in Bhitarkanika National Park area.
The two, identified as Chandramani Jena and Chaitanya Jena, were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly felling mangrove trees in the national park.
A special squad of forest personnel intercepted them while they were carrying over 100 logs in a mechanized boat, said forest officials.
The accused who were from a nearby village were Thursday remanded to jail custody. Axes and other tree cutting tools were seized from their possession, officials said.
Alleged connivance of ground-level forest staff in the tree-felling racket is being looked into, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division, Bimal Prasanna Acharya, said.
In a related development, Bhitarkanika National Park authorities have launched a drive in evicting squatters from the reserve forest area.
Over a dozen of cases have been slapped against unauthorised occupiers under forest law. Unlawful settlers have also been evicted from mangrove forest area, said officials.
The forest areas mainly in Mahakalpada forest range where the tail end of the Mahanadi river system meander through and crisscrossed by innumerable water-inlets, had come under human encroachment.
In the occupied forestland, prawn dykes had come up as it was conducive for such activity due to ingress of saline water. But these areas have now been made encroachment-free following periodic raids by forest department personnel, said officials.
