Fashionable makeover for forest officers

States Forest Dept ropes in Delhis National Institute of Fashion Technology to give its officers smart but functional new uniforms that will help them carry their new gadgets and will also resist wear and tear Forest officers on the rolls of the state Forest Department will soon be exuding sartorial elegance with every step they take to protect the states fastdepleting forest coveru00a0As part of an extended overhaul the sentinels of the forest will be fitted with new gear tailormade to fit their needsMakeoverThe department is thinking of creating a brand identity for the field personnel keeping in mind the increasing variety and complexity of their responsibilities All forest officials including those policing Sanjay Gandhi National Park will receive the new NIFTdesigned uniforms within three monthsThe department is pulling out all the stops to dress its officers in trendy yet functional new work gear and has roped in a wellknown fashion institute from New Delhi the National Institute of Fashion Technology NIFT for the sameThe institute will be customising a brand new uniform for the sentinels of the forests It has been asked to keep in mind certain factors while wielding its needles and thread practicality smartness and comfort while the forest officers perform laborious tasks under adverse conditions in forested areasUndergoing an extended image makeover the department is going techsavvy soon Its not just the forest rangers but the trees themselves which will be receiving some accessories of their own barcode tags which will help officials monitor their growth and healthIts not just their new livery that the officers will be flaunting To complete their fashionable new avatar they will be wielding stateoftheart personal digital assistants PDA or palmtopsu00a0These will enable them to send emails and messages to higher officials as soon as they get wind of crimes like tree felling and poaching within their jurisdictionThe departments makeover was necessitated by the fact that their existing uniforms have no comfortable niches that will accommodate these equipmentu00a0The field formation in the states Forest Department consists of 8771 forest guardsu00a0 FG 2553 foresters and 1029 range forest officers RFO All of them will be suited anew for their jobOfficialspeakTimes have changed and working patterns have changed The design for the khaki uniforms that they presently wear is almost 50yearsold and does not meet the present demands Their hands need to be free when they are fighting fire or tackling other emergenciesu00a0The current uniform does not allow them to keep their various equipment which they then have to carry in their hands That made us consider the appropriateness of the uniforms especially in terms of functionality and design explained Dr Arvind Kumar Jha additional principal chief conservator of forests NagpurOfficers in different levels of the hierarchy will be given different designs The representatives of the design institute are likely to visit the officers soon to learn what their requirements are We want the officers to feel a sense of pride when they wear their uniforms added JhaThe project will take another two to three months for completionA forest guard said We feel like watchmen when we wear our uniforms We want to feel the same pride that a police officer feels when he wears a uniform Ordinary trousers are of no use to us we have to rough it out and need material that is resistant to wear and tear The new uniforms will also help foster a sense of pride