(IN): NDTV report- A forest guard's due

[Guest guest]

A forest guard's due

Friday, Sep 11, 2009 , India

 

Forest guards play a key role in preserving wildlife and environment and

they work under hazardous conditions. In Assam, forest staff are demanding

the status of martyr for their people killed on duty. Here's a special

report on Forest Martyrs Day.

 

NDTV

 

 

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/forest_staff_seeks_martyr_status_for_lost_associa\

tes.php

 

Forest staff in Assam demand their due

<http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/forest_staff_seeks_martyr_status_for_lost_associ\

ates.php#>Kishalay

Bhattacharjee<http://www.ndtv.com/news/search/results.php?cfeed=tw%3BSU%3Ahttp%3\

A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%3BLC%3A%23003399%3BVC%3A%23008000%3BDC%3A%23999999%3BTB%3A0%\

3BPBG%3A1%3BGP%3A0%3B%3BRBG%3A%23DCDCDC & hl=en & q=Kishalay%20Bhattacharjee & site=nd\

tv.com>,

Friday September 11, 2009, Guwahati

 

 

Forest guards play a key role in preserving wildlife and environment. The

staff work under very poor conditions and when killed, receive no

compensation.

 

Close to 800 of them have been killed in the past decade in India and now

forest staff are demanding the status of martyr for their people killed on

the duty.

 

In 1997, suspected militants killed Rajani Das, a forest guard, in Rani

Reserve Forest near Guwahati. His wife Rebati is now terminally ill. The

children are somehow managing with help from relatives, but the family is

yet to receive any compensation from the Forest Department.

 

" Since then we have been seeking help from the department, " said Rajani's

brother.

 

Since the 80s at least 65 forest personnel have been killed on duty in

Assam.

 

In 2006 the government passed an order for payment of ex-gratia for forest

personnel. But so far no one has received anything.

 

It is not just compensation, the demand across the country is that forest

staff killed on duty should be given the status of martyrs.

 

" Around 849 forest staff have been killed, and we demand that they be

honoured and given the status of martyrs, " said Kamal Yadav, general

secretary of All India Forest Officers Federation.

 

Wildlife conservation depends largely on strengthening its frontline staff

and in Assam they are amongst the weakest sections with extremely poor

facilities and obsolete weaponry. Also they are not given any compensation

packages when they are killed by for example timber smugglers, poachers,

militants or even wild animals unlike their counterpart in other government

services.

<http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_player.php?id=1155995>

 

--

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui