CANACONA
The Forest Department booked two shack operators on charges of illegally felling three large Casuarina trees at Talpona late Saturday night.
Officials from the forest (wildlife) department conducted a panchanama and took possession of the logs, while also booking two persons, Dikshita Komarpant and Tulshidas Komarpant, as further investigation was in progress.
The forest department had planted Casuarina saplings along the entire stretch of the Galgibaga-Talpona shore in the 1980s to create a natural corridor to stop sand erosion.
Many of these Casuariana trees have provided the necessary protection to the coast over the past four decades.
Forest Department’s RFO Rajesh Naik stated that as per preliminary enquiry, both Dikshita Komarpant and Tulshidas Komarpant reportedly accepted having illegally felled three Casuarina trees, on grounds that these trees were posing a threat and were likely to fall on their beach shacks.
“They claimed that a branch had previously fallen on their shacks and had caused damages. They had even made applications to the panchayat and deputy collector about these trees endangering their property, and that they received no response,” said Naik.
“They have also admitted that they had felled the trees without waiting for permissions and without completing formalities on order to safeguard their property.”
“We have conducted the panchanama, and taken their statements as well as the statement of Ward Panch of Poinguinim panchayat. Further investigation is being carried out and we expect to file FIR under relevant sections against accused private shack owners for committing the offence of cutting down natural resources and causing destruction in the ecology of the area,” Naik added.
Meanwhile, many people have demanded strict action against the culprits responsible for felling the Casuarina trees which were specially planted by Forest Department to safeguard the coast.
“Those responsible for cutting these trees should be punished according to the rules in force and should be compelled to plant 50 new Casuarina saplings and nurture them in place of the three big trees felled by them,” stated a local environmentalist Seby Barretto.
