S. HARPAL SINGH
“The bridge can actually bring our efforts at controlling teak smuggling to a nought. We are in the process of establishing a check-post at the new entry point to Karimnagar district”, says Jannaram Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) G. Rama Krishna Rao revealing the apprehension of his department.
While illegal felling of teak is under check within the confines of the KTR, smugglers are having a field day elsewhere in the district.
A whopping Rs. 13 to Rs. 14 crore worth teak seized in continuing operations, was auctioned at the Ichoda and Khanapur timber depots since April last year. “About 3,000 cubic metres of illegally felled teak was seized from the forests of Ichoda, Nirmal and Khanapur.
The situation is more than alarming considering the fact that this seizure is taken to be just 10 per cent of all teak felled in smuggling activity in this area”, reveals a top forest official as he tries to throw light on intensity of smuggling activity.
“Smugglers even from distant Ichoda can cross over into Karimnagar through the Kalamadugu bridge. They can transport teak to this place through interior parts of Ichoda mandal via Pembi”, the forest official points out the inherent attraction for timber smugglers.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/forest-officials-concerned-over-bridge/article4405749.ece
Say the new bridge over Godavari river aiding teak smugglers in Adilabad district
A new high-level bridge across the Godavari river near Kalamadugu in Jannaram mandal has become a cause of alarm for forest officials of the Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR). The bridge reduces considerably the distance to a few towns like Jagityal in neighbouring Karimnagar district which is likely to become an attractive proposition for timber smugglers operating in Adilabad district.“The bridge can actually bring our efforts at controlling teak smuggling to a nought. We are in the process of establishing a check-post at the new entry point to Karimnagar district”, says Jannaram Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) G. Rama Krishna Rao revealing the apprehension of his department.
While illegal felling of teak is under check within the confines of the KTR, smugglers are having a field day elsewhere in the district.
A whopping Rs. 13 to Rs. 14 crore worth teak seized in continuing operations, was auctioned at the Ichoda and Khanapur timber depots since April last year. “About 3,000 cubic metres of illegally felled teak was seized from the forests of Ichoda, Nirmal and Khanapur.
The situation is more than alarming considering the fact that this seizure is taken to be just 10 per cent of all teak felled in smuggling activity in this area”, reveals a top forest official as he tries to throw light on intensity of smuggling activity.
Teak transport
Teak from the interior parts of Ichoda and Khanapur is transported to Nizamabad and Karimnagar through several routes mainly over different bridges on Godavari. The Forest Department already has check-posts at Soan in Nirmal, Badankurti in Khanapur and Gudem in Dandepalli mandal.“Smugglers even from distant Ichoda can cross over into Karimnagar through the Kalamadugu bridge. They can transport teak to this place through interior parts of Ichoda mandal via Pembi”, the forest official points out the inherent attraction for timber smugglers.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/forest-officials-concerned-over-bridge/article4405749.ece
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