https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Lady Forest Officer’s Drive Led to Voluntary Surrender of 111 Illegal Country-Made Guns in Tamil Nadu

DFO Karthikeyani K, IFS, spearheaded a special drive named ‘Eradicate illegal guns, save elephants’ in Hosur forest division of Tamil Nadu Forest personnel spread awareness in schools, colleges, buses, and among the village heads and women self-help groups Villagers living in the fringes of the wildlife sanctuaries voluntarily surrendered 111 illegal country-made guns to the forest department
Indian Masterminds Stories

To eradicate the danger to elephants from illegal country-made guns owned by the villagers living in the fringes of the forests in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, DFO Karthikeyani K, IFS, launched a special drive named ‘Eradicate illegal guns, save elephants’ in her division. The officer’s sheer determination and intensive work with the local village heads and women SHGs led to the voluntary surrender of 111 illegal country made guns by the villagers. 

Speaking to Indian Masterminds, IFS officer Karthikeyani K shared details about the drive against illegal guns.

DRIVE AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS

In the first week of September, the forest department of Hosur division in Tamil Nadu called for voluntary surrender of illegal country made guns to curb poaching and shooting of elephants straying into farmlands.

Thereafter, through a public announcement, the department urged people living in villages along the forest fringes to surrender any illegal country made guns in their possession at the forest range office or to the village heads, with the assurance that no legal action will be taken against them.

“Many villages in the Hosur division have illegal country made guns. So, in order to eradicate this danger, we started the drive and were able to get nearly 111 illegal country made guns from the villagers,” Ms. Karthikeyani said.

MASS AWARENESS

She further told Indian Masterminds that they gave the villagers a time limit of 15-20 days, and all along, forest staff spread awareness through drives in schools, colleges, buses, villages, and among the village heads and women self-help groups. The forest department also took the help of social media to create mass awareness so that the people who were willing to surrender get to know about the opportunity. The 111 illegals guns that were surrendered have been now handed over to the police department.

“The drive started in the first week of September and continued till the third week of the same month. The making of these country made guns have been going on for 2-3 decades now. We have been facing this problem in the forest area since the Veerappan days,” Ms. Karthikeyani said. 

At the end of the drive, the forest department felicitated the village heads who helped in creating awareness about the need for gun surrender. Significantly, a dog squad was also used to assist in the process.

“After we were ready to take this step, we thought to involve the dog squad to unearth the illegal guns which are stored in the villages. So, firstly, we created awareness by sending the volunteers. After this drive, the dog squad was involved, and in case any illegal gun was found, then a case was booked against them,” said Ms. Karthikeyani.

LONGSTANDING PROBLEM

She also informed that the Hosur forest division has two wildlife sanctuaries which are home to nearly 60-70 native elephants, and in the migration season, around 100-250 elephants are found in the forests. 

She said that the problems are compounded by the migratory nature of the elephants and also jurisdictional issues. The forest department had earlier seized a number of weapons from places like Anchetty also. They are now hoping that this voluntary surrendering and the raids can help in bringing the number of country-made guns down, thereby preventing elephant poaching.

RECENT DATA OF ELEPHANT POACHING

Recent data from MoEFCC show that in the past three years, 90 cases of seizure of elephant tusks or ivory have been reported in India along with 29 cases of poaching of elephants. The highest number of cases of elephant tusk seizure was reported in 2021 with 42 cases. Similarly, incidents of poaching were also highest in the year 2021 with 14 cases reported in the country. Meghalaya accounted for 7 of the 14 poaching deaths.

Six elephant death due to poaching were reported in 2018-2019, while nine poaching deaths were reported in 2019-2020. Odisha, which is one of the hotspots of human-elephant conflicts, accounted for 7 elephant deaths while Meghalaya alone accounted for 12 deaths due to poaching in the past three years, and Tamil Nadu accounted for 3 deaths due to poaching.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Odisha Government
Odisha Elevates Two Promising IFS Officers to Senior Time Scale, Strengthening Forest Leadership - Know More About Them
Yogi Adityanath UP
Uttar Pradesh Floods: CM Yogi Adityanath Forms ‘Team-11’ for Swift and Transparent Flood Relief Across 12 Districts
DGR Job Fair
DGR Job Fair 2025 Held in Delhi to Empower Ex-Servicemen with Career Opportunities in Emerging Tech - Details Inside
omc
Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) Begins Dispatch from Dubna Mines, Strengthening Supply Chain and Industrial Growth
NFDC
NFDC Launches Free Residential 3D Animation & VFX Training for North East Youth - Here's All You Need To Know
CM Yogi
CM Yogi Adityanath Reviews Rs. 42,891 Crore Development Proposals for Lucknow Division, Emphasizes Timely, Inclusive Execution
Mahanadi River
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai Assures Odisha of Consideration on an Amicable Solution to Mahanadi Water Dispute
MP News
Madhya Pradesh CM Dr. Mohan Yadav Pays Tribute to Pt. Ravishankar Shukla on His Birth Anniversary
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
What Most Indians Don't Know About Jim Corbett
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Odisha Government
Odisha Elevates Two Promising IFS Officers to Senior Time Scale, Strengthening Forest Leadership - Know More About Them
Yogi Adityanath UP
Uttar Pradesh Floods: CM Yogi Adityanath Forms ‘Team-11’ for Swift and Transparent Flood Relief Across 12 Districts
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT