Bengaluru: Hardship allowance approved for Wildlife Department staff
Bengaluru: Ishwar B Khandre, the Forest, Biology, and Environment Minister, announced that a Hardship Allowance has been approved for frontline staff working in wildlife departments. This decision fulfills a long-standing demand from these employees.
Under the new order, Zonal Forest Officers and Sub Zonal Forest Officers will receive Rs 3,500 each, forest guards will be given Rs 2,700, and D grade employees will receive Rs 2,000.
The allowance also extends to staff involved in managing elephant-related issues in regions including Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara, Bannerghatta National Park, and Bandipur, with a maximum of Rs 2,000 per month allocated based on conditions.
Similar provisions apply to the leopard task force in Narasipura, Mandya, Pandavapur, Nagamangala, and Bengaluru city limits, as well as Rapid Response Force staff and those in poaching camps.
Minister Khandre, during his visit to Nagarhole and Bandipur Sanctuaries, acknowledged the challenging working conditions faced by staff and outsourced employees, including risks from wild animals and adverse weather. This led to the decision to provide the special allowance.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
