KHAMMAM: The huge teakwood trees in the forest area of Cherla mandal in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district have become an irresistible attraction for smugglers. Lately, the valuable trees, some which are very large and old, have been felled and the wood smuggled out.
The district is endowed with rich forest cover but at the same time, smuggling is also on the rise. The illegal activity is suspected to have been going on in Cherla as well as Dummagudem mandals in the district, as both are very close to Chhattisgarh and are famous for teakwood trees which have high demand in the open market. Good quality teakwood fetches about `5,000 per cubic feet.
The Cherla forest officials have recently discovered that about `4 lakh worth of teakwood trees have been felled. The officials suspended a beat officer in Cherla mandal and registered cases against unknown persons. Officials suspect that smuggling has been going on from remote villages of Pusuguppa, Kurnavalli, Chintaguppa and Battinapally, which are very close to the Chhattisgarh border.
Officials say that the smugglers have befriended the tribals to help them fell the teakwood trees and cut the wood for smuggling them out of the forest. They are being transported in bullock carts till the main road, and from there onwards in mini trucks, autos and cars.
Forest Range Officer of Cherla mandal P Upender Rao said they were facing difficulty to enter the jungles as Maoist activity was being reported from there. “If we have to go into the jungles, we need protection by armed policemen,” he said.