In a letter to the chief secretaries of all the states, Indian Forest Service (IFS) Association has urged states to declare forest staff as frontline workers on an immediate basis, just like their colleagues in police and revenue departments. Such a declaration would help the forest department staff get timely healthcare and early vaccination.
“While responding to their call of duty, several forest department employees unfortunately contracted the virus and many sadly succumbed to it. Those who lost their lives include employees from all the ranks of the department, ranging from senior IFS officers to the daily wagers, who were involved in protection of nation’s ecological wealth,” read the letter dated May 14.
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“Officers and staff of state forest departments resolutely rose to the occasion, even at the cost of risking their personal wellbeing, and made every possible effort to implement the directions of the government to contain the spread of virus, as well as to provide necessary relief to the citizens of the country,” the letter noted.
The association that represents the country’s IFS officers and works to ensure the welfare of forest personnel has called it ‘unfortunate’ that several states of the country have not yet granted the status of frontline warriors to the forest staff, thus depriving them the preferred healthcare attention when required, as well as the chance for an early vaccination.
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“As the representative of over 3000 IFS officers and as the guardian of over 25000 field forest staff across the country, IFSA humbly request you to take up this matter on priority and immediately grant the status of FLWs to the forest staff of states,” read the letter signed by Saket Badola, IFS, the secretary general.
“This action will ensure that the forest officers and staff who are working in extremely challenging areas, often with poor healthcare facilities and are working closely with forest-based communities, will get vaccinated on priority,” read the letter.
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As per the association such steps will immensely boost the confidence of the forest staff while carrying out their official duties. Moreover, this will also reduce the risk of spread of virus from an infected staff member to the endangered wild animals as well as to any tribal or particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), with whom they work closely.
Earlier this year, the IFSA (Indian Forest Service Association) partnered with Neelesh Misra’s Slow Content Pvt Ltd to share the untold stories of foresters through The Slow App.
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There is a dedicated IFSA channel on The Slow App, which hosts storytelling by Misra and other artistes mentored by him, related to the bravery, sacrifices and triumph of IFS officials and field staff, as well as specially-created video and audio content ranging from long-form video films to podcasts.
The Slow App is available for both Android and the iPhone users and has a variety of audio, visual and reading content.
