Sacrifice of forest personnel must be remembered, says judge

Forest personnel perform a gun salute to pay tribute to the martyrs during the National Forest Martyrs’ Day program at the Forest Bhavan in Kalaburagi on Friday. | Photo credit: ARUN KULKARNI

The sacrifices of forest workers who laid down their lives for the protection of forests, wildlife and biodiversity should always be remembered, said senior civil magistrate and member-secretary of the Kalaburagi District Legal Services Authority Srinivas Navale.

Paying floral tributes at the Forest Martyrs Memorial at Forest Bhavan on Court Road in Kalaburagi on Friday, Mr. Navale said that the true form of dharma is the sincere performance of one’s duties. Forest personnel continued to perform their duties and risk their lives to protect forests and wildlife, he said.

Recalling the contribution of IFS officer P. Srinivas, who was killed during an operation against notorious sandalwood and ivory smuggler Veerappan, Mr. Navale said that Srinivas had worked to create environmental awareness among tribal communities in the Gopinatham area and promote afforestation.

He said forest personnel were working 24 hours a day, despite threats of forest fires, encroachers and wildlife poachers and lack of adequate infrastructure. Society had an obligation to recognize their selfless service and sacrifice, he said.

“Planting and caring for trees was the best way for every citizen to contribute to the protection of forests and to pay tribute to the forest martyrs,” said Mr. Navale, calling for wider publicity to raise donations to a fund set up to support the families of the martyrs and the education of their children.

Kalaburagi Regional Forest Division Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Ashish Reddy said the Union government has declared September 11 as National Forest Martyrs Day to commemorate the historic sacrifice of 363 members of the Bishnoi community in Khejarli, Rajasthan in 1730 while protecting trees.

“About 62 forest officers and personnel in Karnataka have so far lost their lives in the line of duty. These included DCF P. Srinivas who was honored with Kirti Chakra for martyrdom during the fight against Veerappan, S. Manikandan of Nagarahole who lost his life in an elephant attack and was honoured, Hedephantir who was killed by ‘Elephang’; timber smugglers and Chikkerayya who died while handling a wild elephant,” he said.

Earlier, the policemen fired a gun salute as a mark of respect for the martyrs. Forest officer Vijayakumar read out the names of the martyrs.

Kalaburagi Social Forestry Division DCF Sagar S. Tawade, Assistant Conservator of Forests Sunilkumar, Basavaraj Dange Manjula Nelajagi, Rajeshwari B., Honorary President of Kalyana Karnataka Forest Department Employees Association and former Assistant Conservator of Forests RR Yadav and others were present.

Published – 11 Sep 2026 23:33 IST