Delhi forest staff gets khaki dress, badge, baton

Coincidentally, four employees -- including a deputy range officer and two wildlife guards -- were injured in an attack by bootleggers in the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary on Thursday evening.Officials said the dress will provide the staff identity and improve law enforcement.Since the staff did not have a badge or a uniform, it was very difficult to ensure compliance.

Forest and wildlife department personnel in Delhi will now be dressed in Khaki shirts and pants and will always carry a baton in the field.

The city government notified the uniform dress code for the staff of the Forests and Wildlife Department on Thursday. Coincidentally, four employees -- including a deputy range officer and two wildlife guards -- were injured in an attack by bootleggers in the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary on Thursday evening.

Officials said the dress will provide the staff identity and improve law enforcement.

''Since the staff did not have a badge or a uniform, it was very difficult to ensure compliance. People would challenge their authority and even threaten them in some cases,'' a forest department official said. ''Thursday's incident is just an example of the challenges forest and wildlife department personnel face. At times, they have to engage with rowdy elements, smugglers and criminals,'' he said.

Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said the uniform, which has its own strength, will boost the confidence of the department's staff.

''Even the resident welfare associations do not take tree officers seriously without a dress or an identity card,'' she said.

Kandhari had in April filed a petition before the Supreme Court demanding that the field staff be provided with appropriate weapons, uniforms, vehicles and other ancillary logistical support to ensure protection in the line of duty.

While forest staff are striving to protect our environment and its natural resources, very little is done to protect them, she said.

According to the dress code, forests, wildlife inspectors and forest rangers will wear a peak cap with a black ribbon around it affixing letters DFW (Department of Forests and Wildlife) made of white metal. Whereas, forest and wildlife guards will don a khaki felt hat and carry a whistle.

On Thursday evening, around 25 people carrying rods attacked a forest team on being confronted by them, according to Deputy Conservator of Forests (South Division) Amit Anand.

The department has intensified efforts against the smugglers which seems to have rattled them, he said.

''On a few occasions, we have been able to catch the smugglers along with the liquor stock. Many times, they run away seeing the department's personnel,'' the official said.

Smuggling happens in the dark and the smugglers carry weapons such as knives and sickle, according to officials.

Country liquor is manufactured at a place adjacent to the wildlife sanctuary in Anangpur village in Faridabad. The smugglers carry this alcohol to Sangam Vihar, which does not have a liquor store of its own.

The smugglers have broken down a small portion of the sanctuary's boundary wall and use a shortcut to deliver liquor from Haryana to Delhi on foot or by motorcycle.

In July, the Delhi forest department had written to the Haryana administration, asking it to identify and take action against liquor vends operating illegally in the eco-sensitive zone near the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the neighbouring state.

Anand said no action has been taken by Haryana authorities in this regard.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)