1 tonne red sanders seized on GST Road

CHENNAI: Police seized red sanders logs weighing more than a tonne from an abandoned lorry on Monday night and handed them over to forest officials on Tuesday.
Kancheepuram district forest officer, T Ritto Cyriac, said police saw a stationary lorry on GST Road near Maraimalai Nagar during their night patrol. When they checked the vehicle, the logs were discovered inside.A team of officials headed by a range officer later inspected the wood.
Red sanders grows naturally in the forests of Chittoor, Kadappa, Kurnool, Nellore and Prakasam districts in Andhra Pradesh. A-grade wood can fetch up to 1.9 crore per ton, while B-grade wood fetches 50 lakh and C-grade wood, 25 lakh.
The wood in the lorry was found to be of poor quality, valued at Rs 25 lakh per ton, the officer said. A case has been filed and further investigations are on.There is a great demand for the red sanders in the South East Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The red sanders is used for making musical instruments in these countries. In Tamil Nadu nearly 50 years ago the Forest department raised red sanders plantations in the Eastern Ghats in Tiruvallur, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Dharmapuri districts. However, the quality of wood from this plantation is much far superior when compared to the wood extracted from the naturally grown trees. However, there is a ban on harvesting of this species in the country, say the forest sources.