female Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock)
The Hindu Business Line : Vanishing forests
P. Devarajan
A file photo of a female Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock). — Ritu Raj Konwar
TRIPURA is balding fast. Officially, 60 per cent of the geographical area of 10.49 lakh hectares has been declared as forest land, but old timers are not so sure. Sal, teak and other forest cover are being stripped, smuggled into Bangladesh to feed its saw mills and return back as high quality furniture.
In Agartala, land costs between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore per acre, while commercial space (10 ft x10 ft) is priced at around Rs 1 crore; paddy land is priced between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 per acre, while tilla land (hilly land) quotes at between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per acre. Driving round Tripura one did note clusters of teak, while on the ride to Jhumpi Hills, with Betling Shiv at 3,200 ft being the highest point, one looked up in awe at a few old, 180 ft tall, rare Sundhi trees.
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