Forest Department ready for Naxal presence

KOCHI: Sensing the grave threat from a possible naxal presence, the Kerala Forest Department has begun identifying the vulnerable pockets in the state. Officials have been instructed to monitor strangers entering the forests and alert the higher-ups without fail. Efforts are also on for a co-ordinated data collection and search with the Police Department.“Preliminary discussions have been carried out with the Police Department in this regard. Already there are co-ordinated efforts between the Forest and Police Departments for data collection,” pointed out A Raja Raja Varma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.As part of the data collection, the officials have been asked to monitor any strange activity inside the forests. The department has already begun identifying vulnerable pockets inside the forests, particularly in those regions where Kerala shares boundaries with the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. A detailed operation plan will be prepared only after another round of discussions with the police officials. “A detailed data collection is on right from the time we got inputs from the police.  Initially we focused on certain pockets where there is a possibility of naxal presence. Since the police have a better infrastructure, the data collection is being done in association with them,” said N Gopinathan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Vigilance).The officials pointed out that the data collection will be carried out with the active help of tribals.