Forest Department’s drive to check offences

The Hindu , Monday, July 13, 2009
Correspondent : Special Correspondent
COIMBATORE: The Department of Forests is carrying out to a drive to check offences in the Pollachi forests.

This follows a tip off by the Q Branch Police to the department about some gangs from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh targeting the forests in Pollachi and Mudumalai (in the Nilgiris).

Warning

On instructions from the Conservator of Forests and Field Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve H.Basavaraju, a team led by Forest Ranger D.Veeramani cautioned forest dwellers and villagers against joining strangers in committing offences that included poaching and plundering forest wealth.

Mr.Veeramani said that the department focussed specifically on blankets sellers from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He said 90 people who were involved in this trade lived along the main roads to Palakkad, Coimbatore and Udumalpet.

The information provided to the department was that some persons from these two States approached the blankets sellers, requesting that they also be given some work as they were jobless.

While selling blankets, they befriended some forest dwellers and gained access into the forests with their help to commit the offences.

They were on Sunday asked to inform the Forest Department about strangers, even if they were from these two States.

The villagers in the fringes of the forests were also being asked to report movement of strangers.

“If they point these persons out, we can question them on the purpose of their visit,” Mr. Veeramani said.

Registration

“We will request the Sub-Collector to take steps to have the blankets hawkers register their name and address with the local police. This will serve as a warning to the hawkers and also help in detecting strangers,” Mr. Veeramani said.

“This is a preventive measure. We have already begun monsoon patrolling in the forests. It will be wrong on the part of the offenders to believe that we do not keep a vigil during rain,” he said.

 
SOURCE : Monday, July 13, 2009
 


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