Timber worth Rs 30 lakh seized from 3 illegal saw mills

Berhampur: Forest personnel on Tuesday unearthed three illegally operating saw mills at K.Barida village under Polasara forest range in Ganjam district and seized over 1500 sq ft of timber of different species, including teak, sal and others, worth Rs 30 lakh, forest official source said.The accused involved in illegally operating the saw mills managed to flee the village. “Search is on to nab the persons involved in the illegal operation of the saw mills and stocking of timber,” said Vipasha Parul, divisional forest officer (DFO), Ghumusar South divisionThe raids were conducted by over 160 personnel of police and forest department persons. It started from early morning on Tuesday and continued till evening.