Barcode sander logs, track them in real-time, Pawan Kalyan instructs officials

Mangalam (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 8 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Saturday directed officials to barcode every red sander log with the government and track them in real time.

Kalyan, who has forest portfolio with him, visited red sanders warehouses belonging to the forest department at Mangalam village in Tirupati Urban mandal today, and instructed officials that not even a single log should be missing from the time of its seizure to sale.

"Set up unique bar coding and live tracking for every red sanders log. Not even a single log should be missing from the time of its seizure to sale," Kalyan was quoted in a press release as saying.

The Deputy CM checked out the precious wood stored in eight godowns, categorised into a, b, c and non-grade categories.

He also visited Mamanduru forest area in Tirupati district.

Back in May, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had directed all revenue-generating departments, including the forest department, to explore possibilities of increasing revenues for the state, setting an income target of over Rs 1.34 lakh crore for FY26.

Naidu had called for the setting up of a committee to facilitate the international sale of red sandalwood stocks in the state.

Highlighting that Andhra Pradesh is home to red sanders worth thousands of crores of rupees, he said monetising these reserves could bring in substantial income.

Referred to as Zitan in China, the hardwood species found exclusively in the Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh is used for making furniture, among others. PTI STH ADB