The illegal trade in red sanders wood, which sells for up to Rs 80 lakh a tonne in some Asian countries, involves a complex nexus of smugglers and impoverished woodcutters.
"There is no curfew anywhere in Kashmir today but curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Batamaloo police station area of Srinagar as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order," a police official said.
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the past 48 hours.
Madhya Pradesh minister Kusum Mahdele, who was caught on camera purportedly kicking a boy, on Monday sought to defend herself by saying that the video being played on news channels was an "absolute lie", even as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party demanded her resignation over the issue.
The army, SDRF and NDRF are assisting the district administrations in evacuating the affected population to safer places, the authority said.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com spends a day at the Manapaddu beach in Tuticorin where nearly 100 whales were mysteriously beached and many died despite the best efforts of the fishermen and authorities.
Mumbai's Santosh Gaikwad is on a mission to preserve India's wildlife for future generations, says Nikita Puri.
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The last batch of post-riot refugees are stuck between the government and camp patrons who have gone from being benefactors to opportunists, says Sreenivasan Jain
An electorate of 1,45,93,980 voters would exercise their franchise in the third phase.
'The tiger is the epitome of evolution.' 'Every tiger has a stripe pattern that is unique. Each tiger is unique.' 'Tigers are very elusive. It is said a tiger sees you nine times when you see it once.'
The judge asked the actor to appear before the court after a month on May 7 when it will hear his plea for suspension of sentence.
Fires are blazing across Jammu and Kashmir, the state of Uttarakhand and have reached the doorstep of Himachal Pradesh's capital city Shimla.
'The prime minister can think of bullet trains and speed, but cannot think of special measures to save these magnificent creatures.'
We found that there have been violations not only by Sharma, but 50-60 other flat owners also," Assistant Forest Conservator Makarand Ghodke said.
According to new ministry guidelines, the permission to chop down forests will be given only after all the compensatory levies are provided
Targeting Rahul Gandhi over his party's alliance with fodder case convict and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked if the Congress vice president plans to guard the country's resources by allying with leaders accused in scams.
Are the lions tourists see in Gir forest really wild and free? Prasanna D Zore doesn't feel so.
Studying wolves' howls could reveal how human language evolved.
From one of Kashmir's worst trouble spots, Adeeba Tak emerges as a story of hope.
Fresh images from satellite has shown that the effective area under fire in Uttarakhand has come down to 110-115 locations from the earlier about 427
An ecological disaster is in the making in the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest spanning across the Indo-Bangla border, after an oil tanker collided with an empty cargo vessel. The incident spilled nearly 350 tonnes of oil into the Sela river, threatening the survival of multiple species of flora and fauna.
These plantations are not only eating into the land occupied by the region's native forests, they could also disturb the ground water reserve and soil quality
As thousands of protesting farmers marched into Mumbai on Sunday, Hemant Waje walked along with them. This is his account.
'Animal populations are increasing. Human populations are increasing. So there is no way the man-animal conflict going to go away.'
'There is a mafia operating in that area that lends money to these labourers. Loans are paid off with red sandalwood. The actual smugglers don't need to come to the area.'
'Flooding forces the animals to disperse out of the park that, in turn, attracts the attention of poachers.'
CAF Bill's fate to be decided on Monday
One thing is certain: Demonetisation has broken the back of terror funding, says Colonel Anil A Athale.
Heavy rains in the last three days triggered flash floods in parts of Bihar, where 41 people have died so far, and inundated large areas in Assam and North Bengal, paralysing normal life and snapping rail link to the Northeast from the rest of the country.
Residents, forest officials and experts come together to provide security against a prowling leopard in Thane's Hiranandani Estate and nearby colonies.
His co-accused actors -- Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam - were acquitted in the 20-year-old case.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
The Beatles came to Rishikesh to experience Indian spiritualism in 1968. The ashram where they stayed is now a 'Beatles museum'.
The proposed changes, as per the draft, could continue some of the existing conflict between wildlife protection regulations with the implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006, which gives rights to tribals in all kinds of traditional forest lands -- including the wildlife zones, such as national parks. The new proposed law, just as the original one from 1972, does not explicitly recognise these rights in all wildlife areas.
Dog squads are sniffing out poachers and busting their plans. Geetanjali Krishna tells us more about these canine crusaders.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday allocated portfolios to the twenty-member council of ministers, including 10 of the Shiv Sena, who were inducted into his expanded cabinet.
There are constituencies in the remote, far-flung corners of certain parts of Gujarat with only a handful of registered voters. Why, there is just one voter, who lives amid the lions and leopards in the Gir forest. But the Election Commission of India ensures that every eligible citizen gets to participate in the country's five-yearly democratic rite.
A painstaking effort is on to bring the one-horned rhino back to Assam's Manas National Park, the place it once inhabited
Air that people breathe in Indian cities is among the worst in the world.
The Alams saw the magical spot while on a drive to the hills. A few years later they set up home and a small hand woven shawl business, hiring local weavers, using local wool and natural colours made of root, stem and flower.
