Assam: Lack of modern weapons a roadblock for forest guards

Lack of modern weapons for forest guards has proved to be a major roadblock in tackling the increasing incidents of poaching in Assam.

Assam forest officials rue that lack of modern weapons for forest guards in reserve forests and sanctuaries across the State has proved to be a major roadblock in tackling the increasing incidents of poaching.

In the latest incident of poaching, a female rhino was killed by poachers in the Kaziranga National Park and her horn taken away, thus raising the toll of slain rhinos to nine this year in the state. It may be noted that not only rhinos but even elephants and deer are killed by the poachers.

Lack of modern weapons is a major setback during anti-poaching drives in the national parks and reserve forest areas in the State. The archaic .303 rifles are no match to the poachers' sophisticated Kalashnikovs or the AK-47s, said a forest official.

The forest officials also said that the .303 rifle is only capable of firing three to four bullets and the lever has to be pulled every time in order to allow the bullet to come into the firing chamber, which in itself is also time consuming.

On the other hand, sophisticated rifles like AK-47s can fire 30 to 40 rounds at one go, making it almost impossible for the guards to fight-back and reply to the poachers' attacks, he added.

A senior official of the KNP, on the condition of anonymity, said, "The government must provide us better facilities and arms to deal with poachers. Lack of modern equipments, vehicles and surveillance gears make the task difficult."

As the park is adjacent to the Brahmaputra river, the water enters the park during monsoon. The poachers use this opportunity and enter the area on boats and kill these magnificent creatures for making quick money.

The forest guards don't have even a speedboat to chase the poachers during the floods. At times, the guards use elephants for patrolling, as it is difficult to drive on these roads.

Khampa Basumtary of the Bodoland Territorial Council Forest Department believes that the KNP should follow the example of the Manas National Park and actively garner support of the local communities to protect the animals.

At Manas National Park, the BTC administration has been successful in making self-help groups comprising local youth to help the forest guards. Most of these youth are former Bodo rebels.

Forests and wildlife cannot be protected and rescued without the active participation of the locals. The native people will take an initiative only if it helps them earn.