AP Govt to fence Seshachalam forest to prevent felling of red sanders trees

Tirupati, April 20, 2015: In a bid to prevent the entry of red sanders wood cutters and smugglers from entering Seshachalam forests, the Government of AP has decided to fence the entire stretch of the forest boarder. Revealing this to reporters in an interaction with media persons on the sidelines of a private function here , forest minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy said the fencing activity would be taken up irrespective of the cost. "It may cost Rs.100 Cr or more. We are determined to fence the forest at any cost to prevent recurrence of untoward incidents such as the recent encounter, " he stated. Reiterating the Government's commitment to curb the smuggling of red sanders and felling of red sanders trees in the Seshachalam forests, he disclosed that the police teams would soon nab the red sanders smugglers. The Government is expecting Rs.1000 Cr revenue from the second auction of the red sanders wood logs in the next two days, he said.