VELLORE: The two-and-a-half acre sandalwood godown at Tirupattur, considered to be the biggest in Asia and maintained by the Tirupattur Forest Division, will install high-tech surveillance system to protect its 600 tonne stock of sandalwood and red sanders, worth crores of rupees.
The Rs 3-lakh proposal comprises installation of cameras at strategic locations in and around the godown, fire protection equipment supplemented by a dog squad and deployment of armed guards. The system will be put in place before this month-end.
This is the first time that surveillance cameras are being used in a forest godown in the State. According to Manjunatha, District Forest Officer of Vellore who is also holding additional charge of Tirupattur, around 300 tonnes of sandalwood seized in various cases were kept in the godown for the last 20 years.
In addition, sandalwood seized from the forest areas from across the State were also brought to this godown. Once in three months, parts of the wood are auctioned through tender process. Also, around 20 tonnes are allotted for retail sale.
Tirupattur specialises in sandalwood sale. To get trained in the red sanders sale, a staff team from Tirupattur was sent to Chittoor district in nearby Andhra Pradesh some two years ago, the DFO added.
Last month, the first batch of red sanders from Tirupattur division was sold here. In all, 160 tonnes of red sanders were seized from smugglers by the Chennai Customs.
Red sanders is also grown in Vellore district in 200 hectares of forest land in the pockets of Punganur, Odugathur, Gudiyattam, Vellore and Arcot. When these plantations are ready for harvest, they would be stored in the Tirupattur godown before sale.