Forest Depth’s incompetence in nabbing the dreaded poachers, but Berhampur police shows the way
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Remarkable Police Achievement appreciated
Public Servant or Pubic Service (?)
Brahmapur, January 19: While the forest department is supposed to take the poachers to task, it is the police, who efficiently is nabbing those culprits. Take the case of four poachers, who were recently apprehended by Berhampur police from Tamana Reserve Forest with huge cache of arms & ammunitions & two deer horns.
The seized articles included two country made muzzle loading single barrel guns, 125 live cartridges (65 MM), 200 empty cartridges, Lead splinter balls- 10 Kg, Lead splinter balls- 250 g (small), Gun powder- 200 g, lead bar used in making the splinter balls one head torch light used for hunting, equipment used for assembling the cartridges apart from two deer horns with skulls.
This became headline news in vernacular, national and international media.
A group of sensitive and investigative journalists even from National TV of Ganjam district went to DFO’s office to inquire about the incident, discuss about police’s achievement vs Forest officials’ dereliction of prime duty in up keeping the Wildlife Protection Act & their future plan of action.
They sought an appointment by sending visit slips to his chamber mentioning the purpose of the visit. Unfortunately, the DFO Mr.Sunny Khokhar kept the senior journalists waiting at the office corridor for hours. He did not have the ethics of even saying “No”, if was really busy.
Nevertheless, the scribes very patiently waited for hours. Then the DFO Babu came out of his chamber for lunch when the press correspondents wanted to ask few genuine questions about the incident. But the Babu was non-responsive and went away with the Govt vehicle with red beacon light.
While there are strictures for not using the vehicle with beacon light, the love for the vehicle with beacon light reflects the feudal mindset of bureaucrats like DFO and his power-mongering attitude. While the 5-T is professing & instructing Babus to be pro-people, Babus like DFO are juxtaposed to the values professed by 5-T. The scribes have written to RCCF, PCCF,CM Office, 5-T through social media like X and Instagram, Face book, etc and are optimistic that action will be initiated against DFO who is covering up the department’s incompetence & police’s higher scorecard.
