Ajit Karn
NILAMBUR TEAK PLANTATION · Kerala: 114-Year-Old Teak Tree Planted by British at Nilambur Fetches Record Price Close to Rs 40 Lakh at Auctioned.
Malappuram: The British planted a 114-year-old teak tree at the Nilambur teak plantation, and it recently sold at auction for a record price of close to 40 lakh, according to the Forest department.
The tree, which was planted in 1909, fell down on its own in the preservation plot and was picked up by the department.
A forest official said that the teak trees in the preservation plots are only cut down when they fall on their own.
After that, it was put up for auction at the Nedumkayam Forest Depot. On February 10, the owner of Vrindavan Timbers, Ajeesh Kumar, won it after a fierce bidding war for the final price of 39.25 lakh.
Three pieces of the wood that was 8 cubic metres thick were put up for auction.
The main piece, which was more than 3 metres long, sold for 23 lakh, and the other two pieces from the same tree sold for 11 lakh and 5.25 lakh, respectively.
Shereef P, who works at the Nedumkayam depot, was happy that the tree sold for a record price. He said that the department had expected a high price, but not this high.
“This makes us very happy to say. We got 8 cubic metres of wood from a tree in an area planted by the British in 1909 and kept as a preservation plot by the Kerala forest. In that way, the best price went to the biggest piece, which was made of one of the best kinds of wood we had in the depot so far. We are very happy right now.
“The most important thing is that with that price, the Nilambur Teak has set a new standard. Nilambur Teak is known all over the world. It took a number of years to get to that point. “From a historical point of view, Nilambur is important because it was the first place in the world to plant teak trees,” the official said.
The official said that the person who won the bid, Vrindavan Timbers from Thiruvananthapuram, was a regular bidder there and a big customer who bought a lot of good wood.
“He can also be happy that he was able to get such high-quality wood, since he had to bid against a lot of other people. Now, it’s hard to find a single piece of wood that’s over 3 metres long.
Mr. Kumar said, “I’d like to take this chance to thank everyone, especially the people who work for the Kerala Forest Department.” He had to pay an extra 15,000 to get the wood loaded onto the truck so it could be taken to Thiruvananthapuram.
Many people from the area came to see this rare piece of wood, which sold for a record price, being loaded.
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Conolly Plot, in Nilambur, is the oldest teak plantation in the world. It is named after H V Conolly, who was the British Collector to Malabar.
It also has a teak museum with the oldest piece of teak in the world, called “Kannimari.” In Nilambur, the teak plantations cover an area of 2.31 hectares.
