TAPLEJUNG, Aug 3: Red sandalwood, which has been stored in a warehouse of Taplejung for about the past 15 years, has not been managed till date.
The precious wood, which was seized by the police 15 years ago, has been carelessly stored in the warehouse. The sandalwood was seized while the smugglers were trying to smuggle it from India to Nepal in order to take it to China’s Tibet through Taplejung. At that time, more than 2,000 kilograms of smuggled red sandalwood, seized by the police, had been stored in the warehouse of the Division Forest office.
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Police had seized a total of 2,215 kilograms of smuggled red sandalwood from the Dokhu area near Phungling, the district headquarters of Taplejung. The seized red sandalwood was handed over to the then District Forest Office, Taplejung. The red sandalwood, which was recovered on April 17, 2008 was initially stored in a building of the District Police Office, Taplejung following the instructions of forest officers, but after a few years, it was transferred to the warehouse of the forest office. At present, the red sandalwood, which is stored in the warehouse of the Division Forest Office, is said to have started rotting as no decision has been taken on its management so far.
Initially, talks were held between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India about returning the seized red sandalwood, but no concrete decision was made. As a result, the precious wood is left to rot. Badri Prasad Shah, Divisional Forest Officer of Taplejung, said that he is clueless about how long the red sandalwood is to be stored in the warehouse. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, there is a rule that it should be sent to the country from which it was smuggled. According to the forest office, three padlocks have been installed in the warehouse where the seized red sandalwood is stored.
Smuggled red sandalwood from India used to be illegally exported to China's Tibet via Nepal. At that time, the price of red sandalwood was Rs 800 per kilogram. The Division Forest Office has informed Republica that the decision of the higher level is awaited regarding the management of the red sandalwood which has been stored till date. Yuvraj Poudel, Non-Gazetted First Class Official of the Division Forest Office, informed Republica that based on the letter received from the higher authority, 125,361 kilograms of red sandalwood have been seized across Nepal and is yet to be managed.
