Overview
- State governments and forest departments held ceremonies on Friday to light lamps, read names and pay tribute to personnel who died protecting forests and wildlife.
- Gujarat’s chief minister met the family of Vyara RFO Vikas Desai and provided Rs 50 lakh from a benevolent fund to the family while also giving Rs 2 lakh to an injured staffer.
- Speakers at events across Telangana, Karnataka, Assam and Kaziranga cited recent deaths and state casualty tallies as evidence of rising frontline risk, with Telangana reporting 23 deaths and Kaziranga recalling about 60 martyrs.
- Officials used the day to press concrete demands: better field capacity, welfare payments, protective equipment, weapons or police coordination to counter timber smugglers, poachers and snares.
- Ceremonies combined memorial acts, community measures and programmes such as Assam’s Van Durga women’s patrols to highlight how states balance tribute with steps intended to improve safety and support for forest workers.