Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday, 27 July 2026, confirmed that all 23 forest personnel who had gone missing in the dense jungles of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong have been found safely following an intense search operation. The Chief Minister used the development to spotlight the hazardous conditions under which the state's forest staff carry out their conservation duties.

Context

The 23 personnel from the Assam Forest Department went missing while operating in the thick, difficult terrain straddling Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong — two of the state's most ecologically rich but logistically forbidding districts. An intensive search operation was launched to trace them, and all personnel were subsequently located without harm. Chief Minister Sarma wrote on X: 'This is a reminder of the challenging conditions in which our forest personnel work, to protect our faunal friends.'

Policy Backdrop

Dima Hasao is an autonomous hill district in southern Assam characterised by steep gorges and near-impenetrable forest cover, while Karbi Anglong is the state's largest district and home to several biodiversity hotspots. Forest personnel operating in these zones do so under the statutory framework of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and in areas historically supported by Project Tiger — launched in 1973 — which extended central resources to anti-poaching staff across Assam's hill-district reserves. Following peace accords in the 2010s and 2021 that gradually wound down insurgencies in both districts, civilian and forest-department access to interior tracts has expanded, but the terrain itself remains a persistent operational hazard.

Stakeholders and Impact

The incident draws attention to the safety infrastructure available to frontline conservation workers in Northeast India. Forest personnel in remote hill districts routinely face risks ranging from difficult terrain and unpredictable weather to wildlife encounters, with limited communication and emergency-response coverage. The safe recovery of all 23 staff members will be seen as a relief by the Assam Forest Department and conservation teams working across the state's protected areas. Sarma's public acknowledgement also serves to raise the profile of these workers, who operate largely outside public view.

What's Next

The episode is likely to prompt scrutiny of existing search-and-rescue protocols, communication equipment, and emergency preparedness for forest personnel deployed in interior zones of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. Observers will watch for any follow-up announcements — at the next state budget session or during a Forest Department review — on enhanced training, GPS tracking, or dedicated rapid-response capacity for field staff. The incident reinforces a longer-standing demand from conservation bodies for better operational support for frontline workers in India's Northeast.