Telangana forest officials cut bamboo plants at Papikonda National Park: AP

Illegal felling of nearly 50,000 bamboo plants was found by the forest authorities at Papikonda National Park recently.

Telangana forest staff based on preliminary inquiry allegedly felled the plants as part of a regular exercise of extraction of bamboo from the forest area that was earlier a part of Khammam district and later after the bifurcation, merged into Godavari districts of AP.

The area from where the bamboo plants were felled were noticed by the local forest authorities and concluded that it falls under Kukkunuru forest range limits that is a part of AP’s national park.

Stating that the park is under AP, the local forest authorities said that only state forest staff can extract bamboo plants.

An inquiry into the felling has been ordered said the Rajahmundry circle chief conservator of forests B.K. Singh and it is illegal even if TS forest officials are involved; as per norms the proceedings will be done.

Inspecting the area, the local forest officials found that nearly 50,000 bamboo plants had been felled.