Red sander wood cutting, smuggling continue unabated in Kadapa

Kadapa: Though the police and forest authorities have been adopting various methods to curb the illegal transportation of red sanders, the smuggling of red sanders logs continue unabated in the district.

Police seized Rs 50 lakhs worth red sanders in the last couple of months which indicate the intensity of smuggling activity. Support from forest officials to smugglers, political patronage , scarcity of staff in forest department, lack of effective communication facilities, shortage of vehicles and non-availability of modern weapons are the reasons for the continuation of red sanders smuggling.

In addition, wood cutters belonging to one community, Malai Makkal of Juvvadi malai area in Tamil Nadu involve in cutting and smuggling of red sanders in a large numbers.

According to sources, about 3,000 wood cutters were arrested by police and forest departments during the last three years in the district.

But infiltration of smugglers and wood cutters to the Seshachalam, Nallamala and Lankamalleswara forests continued as the culprits adopt several tricky methods to enter forests.

Earlier, these people use to enter forest areas after reaching to Mangalam located on the out skirts of Tirupati either by buses or trains. Later, they go to their destinations in dense forest by walk. As the check-ups were intensified between Tirupati and Kadapa and police seized a number of vehicles, smugglers shifted their entry point to forest to Kadapa district.

It is learnt that the wood cutters are reaching Tirupati from Chennai by ordinary buses , via Naidupet and Sulurpet of Nellore district. They also come via Srikalahasti (in Chittoor district) in the guise of devotees.

They board Tirupati-Guntakal passenger train which is popularly known as Dongala bandi. The train runs during nights. After reaching Guntakal, the cutters go to Mudhanuru, Jammalamadugu, Yerraguntla, Mydukuru and Kamalapuram in Kadapa district, by private vehicles. They stay in temples and Ashrams for some days to mislead police.

To overcome this problem, Superintendent of Police KVV Anburajan proposed to set up 11 new check posts apart from already existing checkposts at Bakharapet, Sidhavatam, Atluru, and Rajampet. The SP said to The Hans India that establishment of new check posts are necessary to prevent entry of wood cutters into forests.