Itanagar, Mar 15 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh minister Mama Natung on Tuesday informed the Assembly that the state forest department will soon convene a meeting with its counterpart in Assam for evolving a mechanism to check rampant illegal felling of trees by timber mafias in jungles along the border of the two North-eastern neighbours.Responding to a zero-hour discussion initiated by senior Congress member Wanglin Lowangdong, the forest and environment minister said several cases of illegal timber logging were registered and actions were taken against the culprits.“The government alone cannot stop the menace. People should cooperate by remaining vigilant on such activities,” Natung said.Arunachal has 83,743 square kilometres of forest cover accounting for 80 per cent of its total geographical area.“Arunachal Pradesh is the 12th bio-diversity hotspot in the world,” he said.The minister said that the government has temporarily suspended eight wood-based industries for their involvement in illegal timber trading and is also monitoring other such industries.Natung urged the members to create awareness among the people of their constituencies to surrender airguns and guns voluntarily besides chainsaws to preserve forest and wildlife.The "Airgun ceremony", a brainchild of Natung, has paid dividend in the wildlife conservation effort, as 1,679 airguns, nine licensed guns and 13 power chainsaws, five handsaws and 13 fishing equipment have been surrendered by the people of the state so far.Earlier, initiating the discussion on illegal felling of trees in Deomali forest division in Tirap district, Lowangdong said that the state lost 2,220 hectares of plantation till 2020 due to illegal timber trading.“The forest department during 2021-22 seized 1,022 logs worth Rs 50.17 lakh from Deomali forest division alone,” the Congress lawmaker said.Fires were exchanged several times between timber mafias and personnel of the Forest Protection Force near the Assam-Arunachal boundary in the district, which, he said, might invite future repercussions. PTI UPL NN NN