Forest officials on Friday seized around 15 quintals of mangrove roots bearing a striking resemblance to sandalwood in Bhitarkanika National Park and arrested nine persons, including five women, for trespassing into the protected forest and felling trees.
Ten quintals of Salacia prinoides roots and stems, locally called Batara, an important mangrove species, packed in 20 sacks, and five quintals of Ceriops decandra roots, called Garani, packed in 10 sacks, were seized from the Kalibhanjadia forest block of the national park. The implements and tools used for cutting down the standing mangrove trees were also seized from their possession.
The arrested persons, all from villages within the park area, were later remanded in judicial custody under the relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, said Manas Das, the Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) of the Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division.
The roots of mangrove trees, which have medicinal value, are yellow in colour, and the accused persons used scented artificial colour to give them the appearance of sandalwood. The refurbished roots are later smuggled to various destinations, where those resembling sandalwood fetch hefty sums for the smugglers, the official said.
Bhitarkanika, one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes, is home to 55 species along the wetland areas of the national park. Researchers have also come across 11 mangrove species that are considered at a high risk of extinction globally.
Mangroves are regarded as natural barriers against tidal surges and cyclones. Due to its rich mangrove cover, cyclonic storms have, at times, failed to make inroads into the wetland areas.
The coastal state is endowed with a rich mangrove forest cover of 231 square kilometres, with a major chunk located in Bhitarkanika. It ranks second only to the Sundarbans in West Bengal in terms of density.
Besides Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara, the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, and Puri are also home to mangrove, commonly known as coastal woodland.
While 82 square kilometres in Bhitarkanika have dense mangrove cover, 95 square kilometres are covered with moderate mangrove forest. Patches totalling 54 square kilometres are sparsely covered with mangroves.