People should realise that the conservation of environment and wildlife is ultimately for the well-being of humans, Minister of Forest and Wildlife A.K. Saseendran has said.
He was speaking after accepting the salute at the passing-out parade of 234 beat forest officers who completed training at the Kerala Police Academy here on Tuesday. “It is the duty of each forest officer to provide a people-friendly image for the department,” he said.
In all, 234 beat officers, including 62 woman officers, participated in the parade. They reached the final round of training at the Thrissur Police Academy after completing training at the Forest Training Institutes at Arippa and Walayar. The Minister distributed prizes for those who performed well during training.
In another function held at the Poongode forest station, the Minister distributed permanent appointment orders of jobs for the dependents of forest watchers who died in a forest fire at Kottambatore.
Efforts were on to start more forest stations in the State. Suggestions for starting 22 forest stations had been submitted before the Finance department, he said.
“The farmers have been facing huge crop loss due to wild animal attacks. The existing compensation structure is insufficient. There are efforts to revise the compensation guidelines, he said.
There should be systems to ensure the lives of people who protest forest and wildlife, Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan, said. Compensation should be given without any delay for victims of wild animal attacks too, he added. The Forest Minister handed over appointment orders for the dependents of Kottambatore forest fire victims.
