Week-long protest by over 10,000 forest staff in Orissa

Baripada, Mar 06 (UNI) Over 10,000 forest field staff resorted to 'mass protest week' in support of their ten-point charter of demands.

Orissa Forest Rangers' Association(OFRA) and Orissa Non-gazetted Forest Services Association(ONGFSA) coordination committee chairman Abhaya Kumar Jena said the protest week would ultimately culminate in strike if the Government did not concede to their the demands.

He said during the protest week, which commenced on March 1 the forest staff wore black badges to lodge their protest.

The forest services association said it would be difficult for the ill-equipped, lathi-wielding, forest guards and staff to fight the forest mafia armed with sophisticated firearms or confront Maoist ultras prowling in the difficult forest terrains.

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