Mahakalapara: Miscreants set on fire a cashew forest along the Ramanagar–Bahakud main road in Kendrapara district Saturday and sold off the burnt trees as firewood to make a quick buck from the prevailing LPG shortage arising out of the war in the Middle East.
Locals alleged that the blaze left more than 100 trees gutted.
Residents claimed that after the fire subsided, the accused cut the damaged trees and sold the wood illegally, for anything between Rs 500 and Rs 700 per quintal, making quick profits.
The wood was reportedly being chopped and sold openly even during the daytime. Locals linked the increasing pressure on forests to shortages of natural gas and fuel supplies amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, saying the impact is being felt across urban and rural areas.
Sources said the cashew plantations were raised in the early 1970s by the Horticulture department.
The department planted 10,000 trees over 354 acres of land in Ramanagar, 5,000 trees over 233 acres of land in Pitapat, and another 5,000 trees over 182 acres of land in Bahakud.
The plantations are currently managed by the Odisha Cashew Development Corporation, which has no staff posted on-site. Its regional office is located in Chandikhol.
Taking advantage of the lack of supervision, timber smugglers are allegedly active in the area. Encroachment is also widespread, with reports of houses built on nearly 100 acres of forest land.
Environmentalist Subhas Swain said the plantations were originally developed after the devastating 1971 cyclone to protect the coastal belt from destruction.
Mahakalapara Tehsildar Rabinarayan Acharya said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident