For the past six days, around 3,000 frontline staff deployed in Gujarat’s forests have been protesting in the state capital Gandhinagar demanding, among other things, better pay and a risk allowance.

The absence of these men and women from their posts in the field could have serious implications for conservation, wildlife experts fear.

Among the Van Rakshaks (beat guards) and Van Pals (foresters) at the protest site is a guard who was deployed to watch over a newborn chick of a critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) in Kutch district.

Parents of some of the forest personnel have also joined the protest, and are sitting at the Satyagraha Chhavni, the designated ground for organised demonstrations in Gandhinagar , with their children who have been on protest mass casual leave from October 28 onward.

Gujarat has nearly 4,000 Van Rakshaks and 1,800 Van Pals, who are tasked with protecting wildlife and forest resources.…