Bare-foot Warriors

Mallige is a beautiful name. Mallige is the Kannada word for Jasmine. The word evokes a sense of aroma and well-being. Recently a daily-wage worker of forest department by the name Mallige met a very gruesome end. A Gaur ( The largest species of Wild cattle in the world, sometimes incorrectly called ‘The Indian Bison’) gored him to death in Bannerughatta National Park, Bangalore. His family, which comprises of two very young children and his aged parents, has lost the sole breadwinner. Since Mallige was a temperory daily-wage worker, his family did not get compensation from the government. Neither did he have the luxury of Insurance.

The role of workers at the grassroots of forest department in conserving our forests and wildlife is of great importance. They are the ones who protect our priceless wealth with their patrol and vigil in the unforgiving forests. Among them, the less said the better about the condition of workers in National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. They keep watch and protect against timber thieves, poachers and forestland encroachers in extremely difficult terrain. Sometimes they have take on and fight against these forces. Just like the soldiers who protect our borders do.

Since they mostly work inside forests, they often leave their kids in their friends’ or relatives’ houses so not to cause inconvenience to their education. In case of any emergency in the family, these workers do not even get the news in time. They get the chance to meet their family only once in two or three months, provided they are allowed leave. A daily-wage forest watcher earns about 3400 Rs a month. With this amount he has to take care of all the needs of himself and his family. They do not get these wages every month either, but once every few months or so. But all the other senior offices and other staff of forest department get their salaries promptly on the last day of the month.

The difficulties of a forest watcher do not end here. They do not have proper uniforms. These watchers, who roam in the hilly and difficult terrain with nothing more than torn slippers on their feet, do not have proper training in the methods of protection and conservation of forests. Nor do they have leaders who can motivate them and effectively take them forward. When poachers see uniformed personnel, at least some fear is instilled in them. Who will even give respect to people in torn clothes? The condition of workers in Kuduremukha National Park is deplorable to say the least. Their hard work does not even have the support of insurance. In case of their untimely death there is no provision for compensation for their family members. Many of them are entering the golden period of old age in their lives, and there is an urgent need to recruit young security personnel. Along with the job of securing our forests, there is also an added burden of many rural development activities that these workers are entrusted with.

Today’s situation demands that a forest guard has to man an area as big as 5000 acres. This proportion must be at least halved. If this has to happen then all the vacant posts in the department must be filled, or at least the positions of temporary workers must be made permanent. At last count there were as many as 1300 empty foest guard posts. These must be filled and additionally 3000 forest watchers must be appointed. The selection and appointment of these personnel must be done by the goverment in a rational way. Educational qualification should not be the sole criteria for the hiring of these personnel. They should have a working knowledge of the animals, birds, trees and land that they will protect. Most importantly, they must have a passion for conservation of our forests.

NaagarahoLe National park paints a similar picture. As much as 55% of forest guards’ posts are vacant. There is vacancy for 47% of forest watchers’ posts. One of Karnataka’s most pristine and best forests, the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, which is spread over an expanse of 988 sq.km, has only four posts for watchers to protect the entire forest! And two of these posts are unoccupied! Here too, the number of unfilled positions of forest guards is as high as 64%. The sad part is that in many cases there is no empathy from the higher-ranking officials towards these low-rung workers.

Native hill-folk, termed as Girijana, and those who live in close proximity to the forests are the people who are best equipped to protect the forests. Their skills, if honed and utilized properly, will be an asset in conservation. Staff, who are recruited as employees, are given training in this field at the beginning of their career. But there is no training after the initial course. Provision should be made for training camps for refresher courses every five years so that they can keep themselves up to date in terms of techniques and technologies.

Provision must be made for free medical services and facilities for the Forest Department employees and contract workers just like the Arogya Bhagya scheme that has been implemented for the Police Department. Special status must be given to those who work inside the Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks. High-quality education for their children must be guaranteed. The fifth pay commission has differentiated between forest department and other departments. A forest guard with 2 stars earns Rs 6250 as basic salary, but a worker of animal husbandry or a fire-fighting department earns Rs 6850. This disparity must be eliminated.

These Bare-foot warriors who protect our forests urgently need the support of government. Remember, they are not just protecting our wildlife and forests, but many other vital things like sources for our rivers on which we depend entirely.


Article reference : Kannada Article "Kaadu uLisuva barigaalina yodharu" By Mr. Sanjay Gubbi that appeared in PrajavaaNi, Thursday 4th June 2009.