"orchid smugglers of the Northeast... At least six tonnes of dry orchids... were seized from Manas in Chirang district...
Smuggling of orchids is so rampant in the area that it is now threatening to wipe out certain species from the district. ... a patrol party stumbled upon the dry Dendrobium orchids stacked in nine bags on the bank of Kuklong river. The 20-km stretch from Kuklong to Kanamakra is one of the richest orchid zones in the Bodoland area. That Kuklong is only 30km from the Indo-Bhutan border has raised suspicion that the flowers were meant to be smuggled across the border to the Himalayan kingdom. ... Nobody could be arrested, as the culprits fled on seeing the forest personnel... These orchids are collected from local agents here and then transported to Bogoribari in Dhubri district from where they are sent to Calcutta and Mumbai. ... There are nearly 700 species of orchids in the Northeast. If smuggling in Chirang is not stopped immediately, it could well mean the loss of at least one [which ?] of these 700 species forever." URL : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071109/asp/northeast/story_8526453.asp *************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
