Jaithirth Rao in The Indian Express:
“If you have visited any of our forests recently, you might, if you are lucky, bump into a forest guard… wearing torn chappals as the budget for shoes has not been approved, and he is likely to be carrying an antique rifle that became obsolete many decades ago. The poachers have no budgetary constraints of a similar nature. They have SUVs, night-vision goggles, AK-47s and cell phones.
“Millions of poor Indians find the budgetary space to buy cell phones with prepaid cards, but our bloated environment ministries are loath to provide forest guards with the same. We have budgets for imported bullet-proof Mercedes cars for our VVIPs; we have budgets for hundreds of safari-suit-clad security personnel for our leaders; we have budgets for changing the names of cities as a substitute for improving them; we have budgets for bloated meaningless committees where we can park our inconvenient cronies; we have budgets for florid press advertisements from various comic ministries lying blissfully as they make claims to non-existent achievements. We have created a BSF, an RPF, a CRPF, an ITBF and a CISF — but when it comes to creating a Forest Protection Force, suddenly our fiscal constraints surface.
“Why can we not have a vigorous group of security guards for our wildlife? Why can they not be equipped with GPS devices (why bother being a pretend IT superpower if we cannot do this), with goggles that can help pick out poachers in the dark (you can buy them in any department store in the US), with telescopic rifles of the automatic or semi-automatic variety (you can order them cheap from the bazaar in Peshawar), with sturdy shoes to trudge in the forest (ordinary tourists seem to be able to afford these), with vehicles that can move fast along jungle tracks (we do have a world class automobile industry, don’t we), with mobile telephony that can help them access each other (we have the fastest growing mobile telephone industry in the world — but I guess we choose not to leverage it)?”
Read the full article: Follow every pug mark
..because tigers don’t vote
… or fund parties
…. or form safe votebanks
i think the article reflects the situation of forest officials perfectly. i’ve seen the pathetic conditions faced by the forest guards who actually are inside jungles unlike the officers, anyway ultimately the forests becoming the hub of terrorists’ training. Its time to strengthen the forest force in the lines of CISF or any other paramilitary force
Or Maybe Nexalites should be paid for protecting forests. They get job and get into the mainstream as well. They know the jungle better than forest guards. Two problems solved!
Precisely, Jerry! Precisely!!
It is never too late. I hope you have woken up from your ‘secular stupor’ bynow. Never mind the forest animals, let’s protect Indians from Jihadi animals. You tell me. While you were busy writing the ‘Mumbaikars Spirit’ not so long ago after the Bombay Blasts and you didn’t write much about how poorly equipped our police and other security men were!! They too could use some IT you know:)
Suddenly you found out that our forest guards could do with a ‘bit of IT’. May be you should have a word with your Uncle and see what you too can do besides ’empowering the shareholders and creating jobs for ‘people like yourselves’… Now Go in peace and enjoy your breathtaking Tamil compositions,,,,
Jerry Rao has always been harsh with our cockeyed sense of priorities. Read his articles on Sir Mirza Ismail and Minoo Masani. Right on, Jerry! Only our UPA has no sense of self esteem and our PM (puppet master) won’t do a thing unless Jean Dreze or some such halfwit approves it.
IT IS TRUE FACT AS FOR AS FOREST GUARDS R CONCERNED BUT…..HAVE U PPL SEEN THE LIVING STYLE OF FOREST OFFICERS. THEY R LOOTING FOREST WEALTH IN CRORES….
HOWEVER, there is no equipment in the world to guard against connivance. Guards are ALSO known to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to poaching.