Two IAS Officers cause ruckus in Pobitora Windlife Sanctuary!

Drinking and Smoking inside the Sanctuary...

Amid the celebrations of Bihu in Assam, two IAS officers caused disturbance due to their unruly behavior during the jeep Safari in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary which is the home to the one horned rhinoceros found only in Assam. 

The purported incident inside the sanctuary which is on the outskirts of Guwahati, took place on Sunday when secretary and commissioner (forest and environment department) Akash Deep and chief electoral officer (Assam) Nitin Khade were on a safari with their families.

According to the Jeep Safari Owners’ Association of the sanctuary, the officers and others smoked cigarettes and created ruckus in the forest. Smoking, drinking alcohol and alighting from the vehicle during safari are prohibited. On Monday, the association wrote to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the incident and sought action against the bureaucrats.

“It is unfortunate that the officers and their groups smoked and created ruckus inside the forest and also sat on the bonnet of the jeeps. When the drivers and forest guards asked them not to sit on bonnets, the officers got furious and verbally abused them,” the letter said.

The association also sent copies of the letter to forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, local MLA and information minister Pijush Hazarika and principal chief conservator of forests MK Yadava. Divisional forest officer (Guwahati wildlife division) Jayashree Naiding confirmed that a departmental inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Deep dismissed the allegations as “baseless”. “I am surprised how and why these allegations are being made. These are totally baseless and fabricated and I have informed my senior officers about the same,” he said. Deep also mentioned that he had instead found the behavior of the drivers rude and felt like there was problem with the vehicle instead and he told the local forest ranger about it. According to him he had no rude interaction with anyone there.