AP to tighten noose around red sanders smugglers

Hyderabad, April 9: The Department of Forests, Andhra Pradesh, is said to be getting ready to to further tighten the noose against red sanders smugglers in the Seshachalam forest of Chittoor district. According to sources, the Forest Department is believed to be implementing a confidential pilot project to monitor specific locations of forests where smuggling of red sanders is rampant. The sources said, if the pilot project becomes successful, then the department plans to implement it on a large scale with a view to conserve the endangered red sanders tree. The Forest Department is also digging up trenches at pre-designated spots in the forest to prevent the woodcutters from transporting the chopped red sanders from deep forest areas. Once the trenches are dug up along a length of 500 km in the forests, forest officials hope to prevent the entry of vehicles the bear the red sanders. These measures are in addition to the existing 40 CCTV cameras that have been kept in specific locations in the forest.