Smuggling of red sanders is a so well planned and organised trade that barring a few, the majority of the persons involved in it do not know who the kingpin is.
The whole network of people involved and their scale of operation is no less than what would be involved in a war.
According to a fact finding report released in 2014 by the National Campaign for De-notified Tribes' Human Rights (NCDNTHR), the strategy involves four layers of operators.
The Hyderabad based NCDNTHR had set up a fact finding committee following the death and arrest of thousands of members of de-notified tribes from Tamil Nadu during the anti-smuggling operations by the police in Andhra Pradesh.
In 2013, the committee, consisting of advocates, tribal leaders and intellectuals from AP and TN, toured the areas where the de-notified tribe people were being recruited for smuggling.
The report has come up with startling revelations about the operation of the smugglers who are allegedly from Kadapa and Chittoor districts,
According to the report, the kingpins are from the upper caste Reddy and Kamma communities and enjoy an envious political clout in both the TDP and Congress.
According to Jayasree, an advocate from Kadapa, who was a member of the fact finding mission, the Tamilian connection came to the fore after the killing of forest officials by the smugglers in 2013.
“Majority of the Tamilian coolies are from areas in Tiruvannamalai district bordering Chittoor district of AP. These villages were once under the influence of notorious red sanders smuggler Veerappan. After the death of Veerappan, the poor people who used to work for him were rendered jobless. This provided an opportunity for the Andhra smugglers to recruit them easily at cheap wages,“ she said.
Around the same time, because of in creased policing, the labourers from AP villages started demanding higher wages as they had to meet court expenses, Jayasree said, adding that this was the reason for the presence of more Tamilian coolies in smuggling. She said there were about 2,000 Tamilians in Andhra jails because of the cases booked against them.
The report details the four-layered operation of red sanders smuggling. “Sandal wood cutters, car riers and loaders are primary layers who work in the forest area. These teams are headed by foremen.Transporters, in the form of drivers and pilots are the second layer of operators. Exporters form the third layer. The entire activity is coordinated by the fourth layer people, usually political kingpins, who invest and provide protection to the other layers.The fourth layer always operates through a line of loyalists who recruit agents and also negotiate with men in uniform.“
The primary layer, the report says, is supported by villagers near the forests, who show the way, supplying food, water etc.
“They also help in concealing the logs till they are transported. The second line loyalists and vehicle pilots are supported by the corrupt in the police and forest departments. For every two vehicles with one tonne logs getting caught on the main roads, 8 vehicles with a load of 10 tons will reach the destination safely, through the agreement between the department and smugglers,“ the report said.
The report also traced the socio-economic evolution of smugglers. “A group of persons from the upper caste Reddy and Kamma communities of Chittoor and Kadapa districts, who began as civil contractors, soon graduated to liquor contractors and real estate tycoons with political support in the past 10 years. Inclusion of the red sanders in the endangered list in the year 2000 has suddenly generated huge demand for the plant fetching high price.This has given way to the underground production, transport and supply of red sanders,“ the report said.
Source: TimesOfIndia
