The State government will introduce forest medal on the lines of police medal to accord due recognition to the frontline staff engaged in conservation and protection and for distinguished services rendered in the Forest Department.
This was announced by Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai while participating in the 63rd Wildlife Week celebrations organised at Kollegal on Monday. While this will be a boost to the morale of the frontline staff guarding the forest wealth, the government will also support financially and by other means the families of those martyred and take care of the education of the surviving children of the staff who may die in the line of duty.
In a bid to increase green cover, the State government has embarked on tree parks in all the taluks of the State. Named after environmentalist Salumarada Thimakka, who has single handedly grown more than 350 banyan trees and tended to them like her children, the Minister said so far 106 such tree parks have been inaugurated. Mr. Rai said the vacancies in the department were being filled fast and so far 3,600 forest guards, Deputy RFOs, among others have been recruited in view of the importance of their role in forest protection.
Mr. Rai also gave away awards for the frontline staff of whom 10 were from the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, while nine staff from M.M. Hills received Wildlife Heroes award.
Celebrated every year in the first week of October, the occasion of Wildlife Week is used to build bridges with the community living on the fringes of the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries where conflict is at its highest apart from creating general awareness on wildlife and their importance.
More than 3,500 people, including students, teachers, parents, and the general public, besides Forest Department staff attended the event held at the Kollegal Mahadeshwara College, Kollegal. The event was jointly organised by the M.M. Hills Wildlife Division and the Cauvery Wildlife Division.
The Forest Department had conducted a series of programmes and competitions in the run up to the celebrations since one month in which more than 2,500 students from about 200 schools and colleges in the region participated. Prizes, including rolling shields and trophies, were given away to the winners of the contests.
For the community living on the forest fringes, the Minister distributed LPG connections to the beneficiaries under the Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub Plan. District in-charge Minister U.T. Khader, Minister for Sugar and SSIs Geetha Mohan Kumari, R. Dhruvakumar, MP, and other elected representatives were present.
