Dhubri: Aranya Suraksha Samity, Assam (ASSA), a nature-based organisation, has expressed concern over alleged clandestine deforestation in Mahamaya Reserve Forest under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), calling it a precious habitat of the globally endangered White-rumped vulture.ASSA said the ecologically rich sal forest in the Rajapara range is among the older sal forests in western Assam districts and the only natural habitat of the White-rumped vulture in the area.In a letter to the BTC chief, ASSA alleged that timber smugglers are destroying the forest despite conservation efforts. “But despite our efforts to save and protect the endangered species with its habitat, timber smugglers are hell bent to destroy the forest,” secretary general of ASSA Haricharan Das rued.Das told TOI that sustained work over the past two decades helped increase the local White-rumped vulture population from 26 to 50, but warned that the numbers could crash without protection.ASSA said it has long demanded that Mahamaya Reserve Forest be declared ‘Jatayu Park’ with proper vigilance and protective measures, and urged immediate action in view of the recent destruction in the forest.
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