Kangpokpi Forest Division details anti-poppy drive
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 04 2023: Kangpokpi forest division along with other agencies carried out destruction of poppy plants in 19 instances in 2022-23, in which 590 acres of area under poppy cultivation were cleared and FIRs were filed in 14 instances under Indian Forest Act and ND & PS Act.

Informing this in a statement, DFO Kangpokpi forest division N Ganesh said that operations to clear poppy in the remaining areas are still going on with support from foresters of Central and Senapati division.

Drone survey is also being conducted to identify areas under cultivation of any form in Reserved Forest (RF) land.

The office has issued summons to around 23 villages namely Phaijang, A Songpijang, Phailengkot, Thomjang, Phoibung, Thotne, Makuli, Chandraman, Amaledara, Mahabir, L Thomjang, Mangjol, Kolpechang, Lhangkichoi, Keithelmanbi, Chingloubung, Gopibung, KPI Ward no 14, Saikotjang, Tujang and Kholjang in connection with poppy cultivation within the Kanglatongbi Kangpokpi RF (KKRF)/Koubru Hill Range and other RF areas.

Complaints have been registered against 24 such cultivators of poppy inside RFs in the last two days, over and above the 14 FIRs filed earlier.

Apart from poppy destruction, the office will be despatching a team of forest officials to camp permanently at Koubru peak for the entire lean season to prevent any forest fire in the KKRF.

The team would be patrolling the entire KKRF area, operating from Koubru peak and will also be involved in making large fire lines to break any forest fire.

Besides, restrictions have been imposed on activities like camping, trekking, expedition without permission from competent authority inside KKRF.

In the last one year, over 1 lakh seedlings have been planted by the division at Koubru hill range alone.

In the upcoming plantation season, the division has plans to plant more than 1.5 lakh seedlings at Koubru ranges.

The division has also conducted joint survey for demarcation of Reserved Forest and Protected Forest, which will be followed by consolidation.

Joint survey and signing of map has been completed for Khumanthou Ching RF and Kharam PF.

Joint survey and map preparation has been done for Kangchup RF and Kangchup Chiru RF but are pending with DC, Imphal West for signature.

About 95 per cent of joint survey in KKRF has also been completed while similar survey has been started for Imphal-Iril PF and Kangchup Leimakhong Irang PF.

Demarcation will be followed by installation of boundary pillars and consolidation of RF/PF.

The division has issued eviction notices to 30 encroachers in KKRF at Mahavir and Thotne.

The encroachers will be evicted in the 2nd and 3rd week of February after following due procedure.

Moreover, the division had evicted resorts and houses from Kangchup Chiru Reserved Forest in the 1st week of December 2022.The statement expressed shock over the allegation levelled by Phayeng villagers regarding the eviction drive carried out in Kangchup Chiru RF.

The division acted upbn the request of encroachers and further eviction has been put on hold due to stay order by the High Court.

The pending case was filed by one of the encroachers of Phayeng village, where a resort was evicted last December.

It is a matter of fact that Kangchup Chiru RF is notified in 1948 and has an area of 2.59 Sq miles (and not Sq.

Km as claimed by Phayeng) as per record of the department.

The double standard of the Phayeng village is highly condemnable.

It is also notable that apart from Umang Lai area of Phayeng, which is being conserved by the community, there are encroachers on the southern side of the Reserved Forest, in the name of Phayeng Khunou, which is very well part of the Kangchup Reserved Forest, it added.

With the arrival of forest fire season, forest department has laid emphasis on awareness generation by maximum registration of people on FSI Forest Fire alert portal.

So far, 4,980 people have already been registered in the fire alert portal from the state, which includes 2,546 from Kangpokpi division alone.

The division is also conducting forest fire awareness workshop and conducting regular patrolling for forest fire.

He urged for maximum registration in the FSI alert portal by visiting https://fsiforesthre.gov.in/registration.php and refraining from indulging in kindling of any fire in reserved forest.

The statement further acknowledged the water crisis being faced in the state as the catchment areas of Singda and Imphal river lie in Kangpokpi district.

The forest department has also prepared a detailed plan for conservation and development of Singda and Imphal-Iril watershed under Indo-German Project.

Out of the total area of 2416 hectares under Singda watershed, interventions are already being undertaken in 1042 hectares in form of plantation, soil moisture conservation works, area closure, riparian afforestation, jhum conservation buffer, assisted natural regeneration.

Livelihood activities and entry point activities such as construction of water reservoirs, drainage/channel facilities, setting up of nurseries, empowering Self Help Groups through skill upgradation and helping set up value chain addition units are already underway in five villages of Singda catchment area.

In Imphal watershed too, interventions have been launched and will be executed in the next 3-4 years in 174 sq km out of 503 sq km areas across 19 villages, which will involve plantation, soil moisture conservation works and livelihood generation.

"Clean Imphal River Campaign" was launched on a large scale in association with volunteers and other government agencies, under which stretches of the Imphal River was cleaned up.

The division is performing exemplarily and ramped up activities to contain deforestation in its areas.

Kangpokpi forest division has multitude of works/activities such as restoration of degraded forest lands, poppy destructions, joint survey of reserved forests and protected forests, forest fire control-prevention and management, afforestation, control on wood based industries, transit of forest produces and implementing various CSS schemes such as Green India Mission, NAP, CAMPA, TRIFED including Indo-German Project in Imphal River watershed and Singda watershed.

It also informed that 75 per cent of the divisional area is either protected forest or reserved forests.

The division is also mauled by shortage of staff, lack of arms and infrastructure, but all the staff are putting in their best efforts to save forest for greener Manipur.

The DFO called for maximum participation of people in upcoming plantation drives.

The DFO Kangpokpi has appealed to the people to not indulge in cultivation of poppy and not involve in any form of encroachment into forest land or breaking up of land inside RF for cultivation.

Such acts attract penalties under Indian Forest Act, 1927 read with Manipur Forest Rules, 2021, he cautioned.

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