Voices to get DFO office to Dharamsala get shriller

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 30

The move to get the office of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Wildlife, shifted from Hamirpur to Dharamsala or Kangra district has gained strength.

Sources here said wildlife officials and activists at Dharamsala have been lobbying to get the office shifted here. They are alleging that locating the office in Hamirpur was unjustified.

Vice-Chairman of Forest Corporation Kewal Singh Pathania also announced in the recent past that the government was considering bringing the office to Dharamsala.

Most of the area of operation under the DFO is in Kangra district. The area of operation of the Hamirpur DFO includes the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary, Gopalpur Zoo located on Dharamsala-Palampur road and Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary. Each time there is an incident at Gopalpur Zoo or Pong Dam Sanctuary, the DFO and his staff has to rush in from Hamirpur.

The sources said the post of DFO was located at Hamirpur just because of political reasons, despite the fact that there was no wildlife sanctuary there. The post was created at Hamirpur during the stint of the previous BJP government.

In the recent past, the department made a move to shift the office to Pong Dam but it was scuttled by the officers who had interests in staying back.

The Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 307 sq km. It has the highest concentration of migratory birds in North India during winters. Last year, about 1.40 lakh migratory birds visited the wetland. However, presently just a range officer rank is stationed there.

Despite having such a large area and diverse and rare varieties of migratory birds, the state government has appointed only nine guards and two rangers in the sanctuary. Many of the officers posted here are nearing retirement and have little interest in wildlife conservation, sources said.

In contrast, the Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Rajasthan, is well protected. It is spread across just 29 sq km and has about 30 forest guards, forest rangers, a DFO and an assistant conservator of forests.

Sources in the Forest Department said the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary needed better protection than the Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary. The people residing around the Bharatpur Sanctuary are Bishnois who culturally and religiously protect wildlife. In contrast, the people residing in the vicinity of the Pong Dam Sanctuary have a history of being hunters or poachers.

There have been incidents when the farmers have reportedly poisoned and killed migratory birds as they feel they damage their crops. After strict action taken by the officials, the incidents of mass poisoning of birds have decreased. Last year, a forest official was caught poaching migratory birds.

The state government could shift the post of DFO from Hamirpur to Pong Dam so that the wildlife sanctuary is better administered, sources said.

The senior officials of the Wildlife Department, however, refused to comment over the matter.