Thousands of  angry  and  disillusioned
forest guards in Uttaranchal today organised a protest march till
the  State  Assembly demanding protection from  poachers,  timber
mafia  and a salary hike, which, according to them, has  remained
unchanged for over 20 years.

The  agitated forest guards, over 3200 in number,  threatened  to
close the region's two biggest national reserves Jim Crobett  and
Rajaji if a time-bound solution was not guaranteed to them.

"Until the time they accept the list of our demands, till then we
will not return to work. If even after this our programme is  not
successful  then we will submit our resignations en mass  and  we
will  not  let anybody work," said Narotam Sati,  leader  of  the
forest guards association.

They said they are no match for the brazen forest gangs, who  use
sophisticated communications, fast vehicles, automatic rifles and
night-vision  equipment  as  they  roam  the  rugged  mountainous
terrain.  In contrast, a forest guard on an average has to  cover
over  20  sq.  km, of area on foot, armed  with  staffs,  archaic
binoculars and sometimes with rare walkie-talkie.

In recent years over a dozen men have been killed in gunfights by
poachers  or  abducted  and murdered. Despite  their  dare  devil
round-the-clock  job  profile, the forest guards are  the  lowest
ranking and often have to wait till close to their retirement for
a single promotion.

As  the  deadlock  continues,  lives  of  thousands  of  animals,
including rare Asian elephant, are at risk. Conservationists warn
that  with an estimated 1000 poaching deaths every year, many  of
these animals could disappear from the country by the end of  the
decade. (ANI)