<p>Around 2,000 people from Tamil Nadu are currently languishing in Andhra Pradesh jails after being arrested on charges of smuggling red sandalwood, according to Forest Department sources here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Notwithstanding Tuesday’s incident of 20 woodcutters being shot dead, seven people from Tamil Nadu have been gunned down in 15 months by the police and forest officials in Andhra Pradesh for involvement in smuggling red sanders<br />The International Union for Conservation of Nature has put red sanders on its “Red List”.<br /><br />Over 1,000 people, who have been lodged in jails over the last six months, were arrested from trains, buses, lodges and even places of worship rather than from the scene of the crime.<br /><br />Soon after Chandrababu Naidu took over as Andhra Pradesh chief minister, the crackdown on smuggling of rend sandalwood has intensified. Last May, three youths from the Tiruvanamalai district of Tamil Nadu, all below the age of 30, were shot dead by Andhra Pradesh forest officials. <br /><br />Just a few days after that, another 35-year-old man from the same district was killed in the Kadappa area of Andhra Pradesh for red sanders smuggling. Likewise, two persons were also gunned down by Andhra Pradesh officials in January last year at Kadapa district. In the same month, another worker from Tamil Nadu was also killed near Chamala Forest. A senior official from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department said smuggling agents target drought-affected villages with large illiterate populations like Sonapadi, Kootu muthal, Arangam, Koothamedu and Vaazhavandi in Tamil Nadu. <br />The official said these places are close to Andhra Pradesh and every month hundreds of woodcutters head to the Tirupati forest areas. Some come back, but many end up in jail. <br /><br />Lured by the prospect of a Rs 3,000 reward for a six-foot log, poor rural youths accept the job of cutting down red sanders. Agents gets Rs 70,000 to 1,00,000 a week as commission. Families of those who die at the hand of cops are pushed into deeper levels of poverty, as they are not eligible for compensation from Tamil Nadu because of the non-issuance of death certificate from the Andhra Pradesh government. <br /><br />“My husband was shot dead by the Andhra Pradesh Police. Till now, I could not get the death certificate of my husband to avail at least widow’s pension from Tamil Nadu,” Pavithra, wife of S Vijayakanth, who died in the encounter, said.<br /><br />In some cases, people who went with agents did not return home. S Subramani (32) of Sattukadu village has not come back home for the past one year after going to Andhra Pradesh with his friends to cut down red sanders.<br /> </p>
<p>Around 2,000 people from Tamil Nadu are currently languishing in Andhra Pradesh jails after being arrested on charges of smuggling red sandalwood, according to Forest Department sources here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Notwithstanding Tuesday’s incident of 20 woodcutters being shot dead, seven people from Tamil Nadu have been gunned down in 15 months by the police and forest officials in Andhra Pradesh for involvement in smuggling red sanders<br />The International Union for Conservation of Nature has put red sanders on its “Red List”.<br /><br />Over 1,000 people, who have been lodged in jails over the last six months, were arrested from trains, buses, lodges and even places of worship rather than from the scene of the crime.<br /><br />Soon after Chandrababu Naidu took over as Andhra Pradesh chief minister, the crackdown on smuggling of rend sandalwood has intensified. Last May, three youths from the Tiruvanamalai district of Tamil Nadu, all below the age of 30, were shot dead by Andhra Pradesh forest officials. <br /><br />Just a few days after that, another 35-year-old man from the same district was killed in the Kadappa area of Andhra Pradesh for red sanders smuggling. Likewise, two persons were also gunned down by Andhra Pradesh officials in January last year at Kadapa district. In the same month, another worker from Tamil Nadu was also killed near Chamala Forest. A senior official from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department said smuggling agents target drought-affected villages with large illiterate populations like Sonapadi, Kootu muthal, Arangam, Koothamedu and Vaazhavandi in Tamil Nadu. <br />The official said these places are close to Andhra Pradesh and every month hundreds of woodcutters head to the Tirupati forest areas. Some come back, but many end up in jail. <br /><br />Lured by the prospect of a Rs 3,000 reward for a six-foot log, poor rural youths accept the job of cutting down red sanders. Agents gets Rs 70,000 to 1,00,000 a week as commission. Families of those who die at the hand of cops are pushed into deeper levels of poverty, as they are not eligible for compensation from Tamil Nadu because of the non-issuance of death certificate from the Andhra Pradesh government. <br /><br />“My husband was shot dead by the Andhra Pradesh Police. Till now, I could not get the death certificate of my husband to avail at least widow’s pension from Tamil Nadu,” Pavithra, wife of S Vijayakanth, who died in the encounter, said.<br /><br />In some cases, people who went with agents did not return home. S Subramani (32) of Sattukadu village has not come back home for the past one year after going to Andhra Pradesh with his friends to cut down red sanders.<br /> </p>
