In the forests of Middle Andaman, the signs had been there for years. Strips of yellow nylon rope tied tightly around tree trunks. Footprints leading off into silence. And sometimes, the terrible sight of lifeless deer caught in snares, their bodies left to decay in the undergrowth.

People in nearby villages noticed. They knew what was happening. But for a long time, there was nowhere to go with this knowledge. No station nearby. No one on duty after dark. No forest thana.

That changed in January 2024.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands Forest Department quietly brought back to life an old, unused Forest Station in Rangat. Officially inaugurated by the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of the Andamans, Admiral DK Joshi, it didn’t come with any loud headlines or blitz. Just a team, a commitment, and a promise to never let the forest go unguarded again.

Since then, this station has stayed open 24×7. And in just one year, it has cracked over 100 forest and wildlife crime cases, intercepted smugglers, rescued trapped animals, and brought new hope to communities who once felt powerless to stop the damage around them.

A station that never sleeps

Before the Rangat Forest Station reopened, the forests of Middle Andaman had little protection once the sun went down. Offenders came and went. Wild animals disappeared. Trees were cut and smuggled under cover of darkness. Forest guards were left with no means to act in real-time, especially at night.

That changed when the once-abandoned station was brought back to life in January 2024.

Strategically located along NH-4, the 24×7 Forest Station now works much like a police thana — but for the forest. It operates round the clock, with separate holding cells for male and female offenders, all monitored by CCTV. For the first time, forest officials can detain suspects on the spot, even during late-night patrols.

Within just one year, this modest outpost has registered over 100 cases — ranging from illegal tree felling, especially of precious species like Padauk, to timber smuggling from Diglipur to South Andaman, and the poaching of wild species, including the Andamanese Wild Pig and deer for venison. Wildlife seizures from across the division are brought here for legal processing under the Indian Forest Act (1927) and the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

But the work being done here goes beyond enforcement — it reaches the heart of community survival.

“The division has far more importance than others,” Dr Abdul Qayum, then Divisional Forest Officer for Middle Andaman, tells The Better India, “since a major chunk of the indigenous Jarawa tribe lives in the jungles of Middle Andaman, especially in the Kadamtala area. Hunting by outsiders was somehow impacting the food sources of this tribe, who are culturally protected and allowed to hunt. Illegal hunting was making it harder even for these indigenous communities to find food sources such as the Andaman Wild Pig.”

To address this, the Forest Department launched a captive breeding programme for the Andaman Wild Pig at Chidiyatapu Biological Park.

So far, 24........

© The Better India