PROTECTING GREEN GOLD | Working on paltry salaries, valiant forest casual labourers protect green gold

Pulwama: On September 19, in the pitch darkness, Muhammad Zaman was patrolling in a dense forest in Forest Division Shopian when a knot of hardcore smugglers transporting illicit timber on horses attacked him with sticks, inflicting a deep gash in his head.

However, Zaman did not give up and with the help of his other colleagues confiscated the timber.

They also apprehended the smugglers and handed them over to the Police.

Zaman was immediately rushed to a nearby medical facility where his wound was closed with six stitches.

Zaman has had multiple brushes with death since he joined the department in 2010.

He survived similar attacks in 2016 and 2020.

The timber smugglers on one occasion broke his legs and inflicted injuries on his face and head on another instance.

“We don’t have any protective gear like helmets. A torch and a stick are all we carry with us,” Zaman said.

Working as a causal labourer on a measly salary of Rs 7500, Zaman and other such employees are putting their lives on the line to protect the forests in their respective areas.

“We work on paltry salaries round the clock and hardly get a day off. Sometimes smugglers catch us off-guard and attack us with sticks and axes,” Zaman said.

He said that the lack of proper gear and equipment had made their job dicier.

“Additionally, the threat of wild animals always looms over us,” said Showkat Ahmad, another casual labourer.

On July 19, a forest casual labourer was killed while another suffered grave injuries when terrorists sprayed them with bullets near Baghandar Bridge in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The employees had set up a checkpoint to catch the smugglers.

Hundreds of casual labourers were engaged as part of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority ( CAMP) in the Forest Department.

However, they have been continuously fighting for regular disbursement and enhancement of their salaries.

“Our salaries are sometimes held back for several months. Despite risking our lives, the authorities hardly have any concern for us,” said a casual labourer, who declined to be quoted by his name.

He said that there were hardly any risk allowances or any such incentives for them.

“We appeal to the government to enhance our salaries and release them on time,” he said.