Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar set November 1 deadline for surrendering illegal firearms and warned that those who fail to comply will face serious consequences.Speaking at the Forest Martyrs Day even…

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar set November 1 deadline for surrendering illegal firearms and warned that those who fail to comply will face serious consequences.Speaking at the Forest Martyrs Day event at Aranya Bhavan here, Shivakumar stressed the need to protect forest and wildlife. “Poaching has to stop. So, we will give time till November 1 to surrender unlicensed firearms. We will just take an apology letter from those who surrender the weapons. We have intelligence and conduct searches on those who do not comply. They will face strict action as per the law,” he said, adding that those who seek to keep the weapons can get a licence.Surrender weapons within 15 days or face action: Manipur CM tells valley, hill residents The chief minister said he has received a request to announce weekly allowance for the frontline staffers in the forest department. He said a similar request has been made from the police and the government will take a decision after looking into the financial constraints.The chief minister advised the forest officers and the frontline staff to handle sensitive situations efficiently. “I urge you to use your common sense. There are people who live near the forests. You should work with them. They should  not be harassed,” he said.Further, the chief minister asked forest officers not to delay development projects inside forest areas. “Don’t delay government projects like roads, (electricity) lines and others. Instead, work with the government as partners. Some of the forest officials come and ask me for posting outside the forest department,” he said.Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy said 66 officers and personnel have been killed on the line of duty. “Our forest cover is 21.5% (of geographical area) which will need to be increased to 33%. The government has initiated Tegasiri schemes which promote teak planting as a win-win situation for farmers and green cover,” he said.

Source: Deccan Herald