Bhubaneswar: Forest minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said 2,000 forest guards posts will be filled up soon to strengthen the forest department in various territorial, wildlife and kendu leaf divisions, on Saturday. He said out of 3,000 forest guard vacancies in the state, recruitment of 2,000 personnel will be fast-tracked and they will join work in Dec.
“The recruitment process has started. We will fill up the vacancies in two phases. While first phase recruitment will be over by Dec, the second phase will start the same month. Based on sanctioned strength, the forest guards will be allotted to the respective circles and divisions after training,” said the minister.
The previous govt had banned forest guard recruitment since Feb 2020. The new govt is keen to recruit for better enforcement activities. The minister also said new technologies are being used to reduce incidents of poaching and to rein in hardcore poachers, who hoodwink the forest personnel in dense forests because of their knowledge of the terrain and routes inside the forest.
The minister said time has come to deal with poachers through best use of technology. AI cameras have helped forest department nail poachers as they provide quick information about poachers with location details, he said.

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