The Andhra Pradesh State Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (APSRSASTF) on Sunday pressed three special combing parties in various directions of Seshachalam hills to undertake combing operations and flush out the smuggling operatives.
According to Deputy SP (Task Force) Venkataiah, acting on information that several batches of red sanders smuggling operatives from Tamil Nadu had entered into the Seshachalam hills through Bhakarapeta, Yerravaripalem and KV Palle routes, special parties were dispatched into the hills to initiate combing operations. The official said that the rush of smuggling operatives into the hills was due to the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions on movement of vehicles on the inter-State borders with Tamil Nadu.
“Our immediate focus is not only to flush out the trespassers from the forests, but also to prevent them from axing the valuable trees,” the Deputy SP said. It is observed that the smuggling activity which witnessed a slump during the last six months after the lockdown came into force in March is now felt once again in the hills, while nabbing of the operatives is also on the rise in recent weeks.
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