MADIKERI: Students at Ponnampet Forestry College in Kodagu boycotted classes and are hosting an indefinite strike demanding 100% reservation to Forestry students for the Range Forest Officer (RFO) posts in the forest department. The students shared that the protest will grow bigger if their demands are not met.
The Karnataka state government amended the reservation for BSc Forestry students in state forest department services and the reservation was reduced from 75% to 50% for the posts of RFOs under the Karnataka Forest Department Services (Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules 2020. This amendment was met with strong opposition from the forestry students and several memorandums in this regard have been submitted by the students and forestry college managements from across the state last year. However, the amendment remains unchanged and the students have now taken to protests, demanding for justice.Ponnampet Forestry College students on Wednesday boycotted classes and protested in front of the college premises.