Special operation against red sandalwood smugglers soon, says Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan

The coalition government will give equal importance to protecting natural resources as much as it focuses on public welfare, says Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan.

Warning the red sandalwood smugglers to stop the illegal trade of the endemic tree species, Mr. Pawan Kalyan on Saturday announced to launch a special operation “to eliminate all those involved in the smuggling in a year.”

He was chairing a review meeting with the Superintendents of Police of five districts, Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) teams, and forest officials at the Collectorate here to discuss the opportunities and obstacles ahead. During the meeting, he said that four kingpins involved in red sandalwood smuggling were identified and the government would seize their assets soon.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan, who is also Minister for Environment, Forest, Science and Technology, said, “Red sandalwood is a rare forest treasure found nowhere else in the world, except in the forests of Seshachalam. This unique treasure is linked to the sentiments and beliefs of the Hindus. It is everyone’s responsibility to protect the red sandalwood from the illegal trade.”

“The Central government intends to eliminate extremism to protect the interests of the country under the name ‘Operation Kagar’. Similar to that, we will launch a special operation to prevent red sandalwood smuggling with the same seriousness. Those who smuggle red sandalwood should change their ways now. It will be better if they voluntarily stop the illegal trade,” he warned.

Earlier, Mr. Pawan Kalyan visited the red sandalwood godown in the Mangalam area and visited the Mamandur forest area in the district, along with District Collector S. Venkateswar and Superintendent of Police L. Subbarayudu. While inspecting the godown, he directed the officials to bring systems like bar coding and live tracking so that no red sandalwood log would miss.