Sandalwood trees: A lost cause?

Sandalwood trees: A lost cause?
Vijay Times

Bangalore: Sandalwood trees, a treasured species long associated with Karnataka, are steadily vanishing from the Garden City as organised gangs continue to strike with impunity , even targeting Central and State government property The most recent incident, when an elderly couple in Malleswaram were assaulted in the early hours of Sunday , underscores the smugglers’ modus operandi as well as their dangerous intent: operating late at night with fast-working electric saws and not hesitating to attack should an alarm be raised.

According to police records, in the last eight to ten months, sandalwood smugglers have made away with trees and logs from the Indian Air Force premises at Gangammangudi, the Income-T ax Department staff quarters at J C Nagar, Maharani’s College, the BWSSB office compound on Bellary Road, Aranya Bhavan, headquarters of the forest department, the Indian Institute of Science, the Bangalore University campus and Cubbon Park.

Assistant Commissioner of Police N D Mulla estimates that around Rs 1.5 crore worth of sandalwood has been stolen from the City during the last six months. Such incidents are rampant because of a lack of security measures, he says, pointing out that Cubbon Park used to have a large number of sandalwood trees but today one can see only a handful there. The problem gets worse when it comes to government land, which is vast and lacks adequate security , he says.

According to a senior police official, Medimallasandra, Kattigehalli, Byalnarsapura and Adigarakallahalli on the outskirts of the City form the epicentre of the sandalwood smugglers’ operations and the Bangalore rural police need to step up their vigil around these villages.

However, the Bangalore rural police say the task is difficult, given their limited resources.