Forest staff seek risk allowance for those deployed to chase away wild animals

Kerala forest officials demand risk allowance for frontline staff facing human-wildlife conflicts to ensure safety and protection.

With the number of human-wildlife conflicts and deaths rising in Idukki, the Kerala State Forest Protective Staff Organisation (KSFPSO), an association of frontline forest officials, has demanded that the government allot the Marayur model risk allowance for the Forest department’s frontline staff who are deputed for human-animal conflict mitigation cases.

The officials assigned to safeguard the Marayur Sandal division receive a risk allowance. The government should allow such an allowance for the Rapid Response Team (RRT) members and frontline forest staff, said the organisation.

The association expressed serious concern about the security of Forest department staff who chase wild elephants from forest fringes and human habitations. “The Rapid Response Team (RRT) members and ground-level department staff move around in places where wild elephants are spotted. Their weapons mostly comprise bamboo sticks and a torch. Many times, Forest department staff have only narrowly escaped from wild elephant attacks,” noted the association.

“In the past 14 months, the district alone witnessed nine deaths in wild elephant attacks. A number of people were injured in such attacks. The district is currently facing a serious threat from wild elephant attacks and only three permanent RRT teams are operating here. Chinnakkanal, where wild elephant attack threats are frequent, has no permanent RRT system,” the association said.

The organisation alleged that in Peerumade RRT, higher officials were deputing RRT members for works such as court duty and eco shop in-charge. “The RRT members have to work in the vicinity of wild animals so as to chase them from human habitations. But we have no proper equipment or measures for self-protection. At times, the watchers use crackers to chase the animals,” said an RRT member.