Telangana: FRO killing casts shadow over Podu land surveys

There is uncertainty over completion of the ongoing Podu land survey as forest officials are a worried lot after the killing of Forest Range Officer

Adilabad: There is uncertainty over completion of the ongoing Podu land survey as forest officials are a worried lot after the killing of Forest Range Officer Ch Srinivas Rao in Kothagudem.

Officials of the Forest department have been victims of attacks for enforcing the law to conserve the flora and fauna of the district. In fact, eight forest officials including two forest range officers, a Dy FRO and five forest beat officers (FBO), were killed in attacks by teak timber smugglers while discharging duties from 1987 to 2011.

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“We are risking our lives to protect the forest cover and wildlife every day. Smugglers of teakwood, in particular, dreaded Multanis of Adilabad are known for being violent against forest officials for preventing them from decimating the trees. Some dwellers of the forest fringe villages are resorting to assaulting the field staffers who take up plantation in forest lands,” a forest range officer said.

The foresters feel that discharging duties is fraught with physical attacks. They alleged that local political leaders were supporting the encroachers of forest lands to gain electoral mileage. They opined that interference of political leaders in conservation of the forest would have an adverse impact on the environment. They want the government to provide weapons to defend themselves.

The authorities of the forest department request the state government to emulate policies adopted by the neighboring Maharashtra to curb the assaults. “The Maharashtra government is giving weapons to the forest officials. The move instilled positive thinking and self-confidence among the foresters and helped protection of the forests and wildlife,” another forest official reasoned.

Proposals for firearms kept in cold storage

The authorities of the Forest department have been seeking firearms for quite long. The demand comes to fore whenever the State witnesses violent incidents against the foresters. It assumes significance only when a forester is attacked. The department submitted a proposal to the government, requesting that its officials be provided with firearms in January 2017.

The department, in the request, urged 303 double barrel rifles for ranks starting from range officers to forest guard. Forest officials here were carrying firearms till 1982. However, they had to surrender their weapons to the police with extremists snatching their weapons and using the same to attack the police.