Eight forest officials suspended within 6 months in Kawal

Eight forest officials in Jannaram division of Kawal Tiger Reserve have been suspended in six months, affecting wildlife protection and conservation. Officials said staff shortages were making forest protection difficult, while illegal sand mining was drying streams and threatening wildlife

Mancherial: Eight forest officials working in Jannaram division of Kawal Tiger Reserve were suspended in a span of six months, affecting protection and conservation of wildlife.

Jannaram division is one of 11 divisions in erstwhile Adilabad district. It is located in the core of KTR. It is an important part from the perspective of conservation of tigers. However, suspension of officials at regular intervals is likely to leave an adverse impact on the administration of the division.

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In a latest instance, Indanapalli in-charge forest range officer Laxminarayana was suspended for thrashing tribal youngsters in Indanpalli range. Earlier, Chintaguda section officer Bhojaiah, beat officer Srikanth, Indanpalli FRO Sridhar Chary and beat officer Pranay were suspended for dereliction of duties, following mining of sand and felling of teak trees in the division six months back.

Jannaram deputy range officer Kumara Swamy, Kishtapur beat officer Parameshwar and another official were already suspended for failing to prevent illegal mining and transportation of sand from streams in Kawal. Action has been taken against a major portion of officials for showing negligence in checking illegal sand mining from the reserve, worrying authorities.

Officials remarked that protection of the forest became a tough task with officials getting suspended in a row. None is coming forward to work in Jannaram division following suspension of range and deputy range-level officials. The staff crunch caused by consecutive suspensions has affected not only protection, but also conservation of wildlife.

Top officials opined that the unprecedented sand mining might deplete groundwater, leaving the wild animals to go thirsty in summer. They said that streams were a significant source of drinking water for animals, in particular tigers and herbivores. However, the mining menace is drying the streams, forcing the animals to explore human settlements to quench their thirst.