For the second time within three days, hundreds of trees were felled in the Pembi reserve forest by villagers from habitations located within the range. The total number of trees cut mercilessly by the villagers came up to an estimated 700, including about 500 of the teak variety.
About 200 Lambada tribals from the villages of Pulgam Pandri, Tatiguda, Faujpet, Paspula and Archantanda ravaged the forest on the over five-km stretch of a gravel track between Pulgam Pandri in Khanapur Revenue mandal and Ragidubbanala forest base camp near Fakirpet in Ichoda mandal. “Though the Telangana State Forest Minister belongs to this district, forest and police personnel failed to stop the villagers,” pointed out Wagdhare Tulsiram of Narsapur village in Ichoda mandal, who apparently fears the consequences of the decimation of the forest in this manner.
The first instance of felling, which saw nearly 500 trees being decimated, took place first on the night of January 21 following which the police booked a case against 20 villagers. The second and equally audacious act came on the night of January 23 when the villagers armed with axes started the felling right from the base camp of Ragidubbanala.
In both instances, the Forest and Police Departments came to know of the felling while the villagers were at it. The enforcers however, stopped short of entering the jungle fearing the information could be a trap set up by Naxalites.
According to forest officials, the villagers took recourse to such large-scale felling of trees as they wanted to pressure the government for laying a road connecting Pulgam Pandri with Fakirpet, a distance of about 6 km. The road, if laid, will reduce the distance for the villagers to access Ichoda mandal headquarters, a busy commercial centre in this area.
A gravel track was laid between the two villages in question about three years back without actually disturbing the vegetation. The Forest Department has also proposed laying a tar road and enumeration of trees which need to be cut for the purpose has also been done which makes the action of the villagers somewhat inexplicable.
It may be mentioned here that Forest Department seizes over Rs. 10 crore worth of teak every year which comes mostly from the thick forest in Pembi range.
If a tar road is laid, the task of transportation of the illegally felled teak will become easy for the habitual Multani smugglers of Keshavpatnam, Gundala and Jogipet in Ichoda mandal.
