The forest department personnel on Sunday observed ‘National Forest Martyrs Day’ at the Forest Range Office at Kuppam.
Divisional Forest Officer (Chittoor West) C. Chaitanya Kumar Reddy said that the staff of the forest department in Kuppam was playing a crucial role in protecting Asian elephants in the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary.
“The dedication of the staff of the Kuppam and Palamaner ranges in preventing the man-animal conflict is praiseworthy. Their efforts in driving the wild elephants back into their habitats have saved lives of many jumbos from possible electrocution in the fields abutting the forests,” he said.
On the occasion, the official recalled the sacrifice of a department driver who was killed in a jumbo attack while dealing with a herd near Chittoor.
Forest Range Officer (Kuppam) K. Madan Mohan Reddy said that thanks to forest conservation, the range was found to be teeming with wild elephants, apart from a variety of wildlife species, including panthers, sloth bear, spotted deer, blackbucks, and peacocks.
Later, the forest officials paid floral tributes to the portrait of Andhra Pradesh-born IFS officer Pandillapalle Srinivas, who was brutally murdered by forest brigand Veerappan in the forests of Karnataka in November 1991.
They recalled that September 11 came to be observed as the National Forest Martyrs Day in the country as a mark of respect to the slain official.
