Please release them...they are not smugglers: Jaya

The menace of Red Sander smuggling is continuing in the AP state as ever before despite encounter of 20 wood cutters few months ago at Seshachalam forest and regular arrests of smugglers by AP police. AP forest department and police officials are seizing huge quantity of Red Sander logs at regular intervals. Around 500 wood cutters were arrested by them during last few months and cases were booked against them all.

But, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha wrote a letter to her counterpart of AP Chandrababu Naidu today, requesting him to release them all. She writes that they are innocent and poor labor working to feed their families. They have nothing to do with smuggling activities or smugglers. Hence, she appeals Chandrababu Naidu to make arrangement for their release from jails.

Actually, Jayalalitha was expected to address this menace long ago when 20 wood cutters were encountered in Seshachalam forests. Then she gave some compensation and also government jobs to each member of the deceased families. Later, she ignored this problem although she knows that hundreds of poor labor from her state are indulging in these illegal activities and got arrested by the AP police. Being Chief Minister of a state, she also knows that Red Sander smuggling is a serious offence and it can’t be ignored keeping in view of poor condition of the labor. But, she asks the AP Government to ignore them. Can she allow them to do the same in her Tamilnadu state?