The sandalwood treasure in Bannerghatta forests of have yet again come under the radar of smugglers from Tamil Nadu with at least five attempts being made in the last three months to smuggle them. The latest incident was reported on Wednesday last, when forest guards from Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) opened fire at a gang which was trying to remove a tree stump which was earlier chopped. One of the smugglers was injured in a shootout and later caught, but his four other accomplices fled the scene.
A few years ago, the sandalwood mafia from Bengaluru use to hire men from Pulidukote village in Selam district of Tamil Nadu to chop the precious wood during night hours. But, after a few shooting incidents on sandalwood poachers, such smuggling was brought under control. But according to forest officials, the Bannerghatta forests have always been on the radar of sandalwood gangs operating from Tamil Nadu. For many gangs from Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru and its surrounding areas, where sandalwood grows naturally, have become a major hunting ground. There have been attempts in the past when forest officials have gone to TN looking for smugglers, but in vain.
“For the last few months, we had information about smugglers from Tamil Nadu trying to enter into BNP from Anekal wildlife range which opens to both Karnataka and TN. The vast stretch of forests makes it easy for smugglers to gain entry and look for the right kind of sandalwood tree to cut. Since there is profuse growth of sandalwood inside our forests, the lure for poachers is always there. Hence, we are beefing up the staff strength at the anti-poaching camps inside BNP”, said DCF BNP, N. Devaraj. Protecting the precious trees inside the forest area is a Herculean task, no doubt. There are also quite a few green campuses in city which have hundreds of sandalwood trees.
“Every month, at least two sandalwood theft cases are reported in Sadashivnagar police limits alone and many cases go unnoticed. The large vegetated campuses like IISc and the Sankey residential quarters behind Aranya Bhavan, are two vulnerable areas”, noted an official.