Record money received through online sandalwood auction in Kerala; one tree alone fetches Rs 1.25 cr
Idukki (PTI): Kerala's famous Marayoor sandalwood trees are known for their unparalleled fragrance, and the state Forest Department has received record sales revenue through its auction this month. Officials said the department got Rs 37.22 crore in the auction, where big companies and institutions like Karnataka Soaps, Oushadhi, Jaipur CMT and India Limited, KFDC, and Devaswom Boards participated.
The sandalwood collected from private lands and those from forest areas were auctioned. Forest officials said the amount collected towards the sandalwood from private lands will be handed over to the landowners.
"Just one sandalwood tree on a private land at Marayoor picked up Rs 1.25 crore. Its roots alone were sold for Rs 27.34 lakh," Vinod Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Marayoor told the news agency PTI.
He said with more private people coming forward for sandalwood farming, it should be noted that 4,226 kg of sandalwood collected from private farmers were also auctioned, fetching more than Rs 3 crore.
"This amount will be handed over to the land owners," Mr Kumar said.
Apart from Marayoor sandalwood, fragrant wood from other divisions of the Kerala Forest Department was also auctioned here.
"9,418 kg of sandalwood from other divisions were auctioned," the DFO added.
This is the second online auction conducted this year, which was carried out for over two days in four sessions. A total of 68.632 tonne of sandalwood in 15 different classes were auctioned. Out of this, 30467.25 kg of sandalwood were sold out.
On the first day, Rs 28.96 crore and on the second day, Rs 8.26 crore worth of sandalwood were auctioned.
Karnataka Soaps alone has bought 25.99 tonne of sandalwood at Rs 27 crore.
The auction also included white sandal bark and roots. White sandal bark fetched a minimum price of Rs 225 per kg.
On the first auction in March this year, sandalwood was auctioned for Rs 31 crore.
Marayoor, located some 40-km from Kerala's scenic Munnar hill station, is the only place in Kerala with a natural growth of sandalwood trees.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Indore MBA student's classmate abused body after killing her, performed witchcraft: Police
Indore (PTI): The classmate of a 24-year-old female MBA student, arrested in Indore for her murder, allegedly abused the body after the killing and also performed occult rituals while on the run, police said.
On February 13, people complained of a foul smell emanating from a closed house in the city's Dwarkapuri police station area.
After police arrived at the scene, the naked body of a 24-year-old woman was found in the house.
The woman was pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from a city college and the body was found in her classmate's rented house, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shrikrishna Lalchandani told PTI on Monday.
The classmate fled after the incident. He was taken into custody in Mumbai and is being interrogated after his arrest, the official said.
Referring to the accused's interrogation, the official said he allegedly strangled his classmate to death and then "abused" the body.
ALSO READ: Student killed, three injured in clash at college in Maharashtra's Latur; 4 held
"The accused also performed witchcraft near Panvel (in Navi Mumbai) while on the run. The accused claims that he was mentally disturbed after the murder and wanted to communicate with the woman's spirit through witchcraft," he said.
According to the DCP, the woman and the accused were in a close relationship.
"The accused suspected that she was talking to other men. Enraged, he killed her and fled," the official said.
After the woman's body was found, her father accused the classmate of trying to extort money from his daughter using her obscene photos and then torturing her to death.
The accused had even posted these photos on her college WhatsApp group, he alleged.
