Goemkarponn desk
VALPOI:
In a shocking revelation, it has come to teh fore that there has been large scale smuggling of Khairi tree (Acacia Catechu) from Sattari taluka.
While the Khair smuggling was rampant in the past, one incident was reported of the trees cut down and smuggled at Murmune in the IIT proposed area in the Guleli Panchayat area on Wednesday night.
This has created a stir in the surrounding areas.
Shockingly, the trees were cut very next to teh main roads and was probably done in the dead of night.
The incident came to teh fore when the road was closed on Thursday morning when some citizens from Murmune area were on their way to Guleli. They saw the branches of the trees fell on the road.
Upon receiving the information, Shashikant Savardekar, a leading activist of the anti-IIT movement, rushed to the spot and started clearing the road himself.
Prima facie, it looked like the trees were old and fetched huge price in market (.
According to Shashikant Savardekar, the incident took place at midnight on Wednesday or early morning on Thursday.
“There is no traffic on this road after 8 pm. The miscreants have taken advantage of this and cut down trees using cutters, and the trees were smuggled,”, Savardekar said.
Meanwhile, cutting down trees on the side of the road in this manner and smuggling it is going to create a stir for the citizens of the area.
Meanwhile, sources in the Valpoi Divisional Forest Officer said that the trees that have been cut down have been included in the IIT proposed area.
“The land is still owned by IIT management. They need to complain in this regard,” they said.
Sources said that an inquiry will be held in this regard after receiving the complaint.
Good demand in Khairi wood market…
Meanwhile, according to more information received, Khairi trees are in good demand in the market.
The wood of this tree is used primarily for making clothes and dyes. The wood of this tree is used to bring colour to any substance.
According to some sources, it is available in the market in small pieces.
Earlier, there were several cases of smuggling of Khairi trees in Sattari taluka.
According to the information received in this regard, there are many Khairi trees in the dense forest of Sattari taluka.
Meanwhile, according to further information received, the possibility of a large gang being involved in smuggling Khairi trees cannot be ruled out. This is because many such incidents have taken place in seventy talukas before.