Bahanaga: Amid allegations of timber smuggling in various parts of Balasore, forest and Vigilance officials raided two illegal sawmills in Bahanaga area Saturday.
The raids yielded seizure of timber and machines worth Rs 8 lakh. The forest department had filed two cases in this regard. The team carried out raid on a sawmill at Balang under Soro block and another at Baringia in Pandasuni panchayat.
Surprisingly, the owners of the sawmills had done a vanishing act before the raids. Locals questioned as to how the owners could get hints in advance about the raids.
PNN