(IN) Wildlife crimes office in Kochi remains understaffed

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what a pity!

 

Online edition of India's National Newspaper

Saturday, Aug 15, 2009

ePaper <http://epaper.thehindu.com/>

*Wildlife crimes office in Kochi remains understaffed *

 

K.S. Sudhi

 

*ENDANGERED SPECIES: Parakeets seized from a house in Kochi in 2006 as seen

in this file photo. *

 

KOCHI: The sub-regional office of the Wildlife Crimes Control Bureau has

been remaining headless for nearly two months even as wildlife crimes are

being regularly reported from the State.

 

The Assistant Director who was heading the regional office was transferred

from Kochi nearly two months ago. Of the three support staff posted here,

two were also transferred out of the State leaving the office with one

clerk.

 

An inspector from the Regional Office of the Bureau in Chennai has been

given the additional charge of the Kochi centre following the transfers. The

official from Chennai reaches the Kochi office at intervals to discharge his

duties.

 

Several instances of attempts to smuggle barn owls, snakes, turtles and

poaching of elephants were detected by the authorities from the State in the

recent past. The statistics available with various law enforcement agencies

reveal that 202 wildlife crime cases were reported between November 2007 and

August 2009 in Kerala.

 

It was in 2007 July that the Wildlife (Protection) Office, Kochi, was

re-designated as the regional sub office of the Bureau following the

decision of the Central government to form the Bureau to curb wildlife

crimes.

 

The Kochi office has jurisdiction over Kerala, Lakshadweep and Andaman and

Nicobar Islands. The sub-regional office has been mostly focusing on

inspection of import and export consignments. It scans the export and import

consignments for banned goods including plants and wildlife products. The

Bureau had registered three cases of such violations in 2008 and two in

2009. In June, the officials of the Bureau had confiscated wildlife trophies

that were brought to Kochi by a woman passenger from the U.S. It had also

recently conducted wildlife crime awareness programmes for various law

enforcement agencies.

 

Presently, the activity of the Bureau is mostly restricted to the

compilation of data of wildlife crimes reported and detected by various

investigating agencies. The Bureau had also initiated action in connection

with the selling of parrots and turtles in two cases in the city. 'The

Kerala Government has been repeatedly demanding the strengthening of the

Kochi sub regional office but in vain,' said Benoy Viswom, Minister for

Forests and Wildlife.

 

It's mostly through the air and seaports of Kochi that the illegal wildlife

transactions are attempted. The recent attempts to smuggle out star turtles,

barn owls and snakes from the State underline the need for strengthening the

Bureau. The government had taken up the issue with the present and past

Union Forest ministers on several occasions, Mr. Viswom said.

 

When contacted, S. Narayanan, Regional Deputy Director of the Bureau,

Chennai, said that a proposal for strengthening the Kochi office was under

the consideration of the authorities. The system at the Kochi office will be

strengthened soon and the process for filling up the vacancies has started,

he said.

 

There are indications that one more sub-regional office of the Bureau will

be opened in the Southern region to increase the vigil on wildlife offences.