Ex-soldiers to guard wildlife sanctuaries

Jaipur: Rajasthan, which has drawn severe criticism for losing much of its tiger population to poaching, is to appoint 1,000 ex-soldiers to help guard wildlife sanctuaries in the state.

The forest department has already begun the appointment process after receiving a sanction from the finance department. Rajasthan has two tiger projects, a bird sanctuary, 25 wildlife sanctuaries and 32 closed areas.

"For the safety of wildlife, and to curb poaching, 1,000 retired army soldiers are to be hired and deployed on a contract basis in various sanctuaries and national parks at a monthly remuneration of Rs4,000 (Dh363)," said L.N. Dave, Rajasthan's forest minister.

The former army personnel will be given intensive training and provided with firearms, he said.

Applications

"We are in the process of inviting applications and the last date to submit is August 20. The final list will be declared on September 1, after which all candidates will have to undergo a physical test," Dave added.

Though no official statistics have been released so far, sources in the forest department said 125 security personnel would be deployed in Ranthambore, 100 in Sariska, 75 in Udaipur, 70 in Chittorgarh and 55 each in Jaipur and Kota.