PK Sen. Telegraph picture

Patna, Jan. 30: P.K. Sen has earned the distinction of being the first Indian Forest Service officer from Bihar to be awarded the Padma Shri.

Speaking to The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi, Sen said the award would inspire other forest officials. Sen joined the state’s forest services in 1967 and after the creation of Indian Forest Service (IFoS), he was included in the service in 1969.

As an IFoS officer, Sen, was involved in the management of forests and wildlife in the state. He also held the post of the chief wildlife warden in Bihar before serving on the field in different capacities.

Hailing from Ranchi, Sen was put on central deputation in October, 1996 and was the director of Project Tiger till his retirement in 2001. He has now settled in New Delhi and has disposed of his house in Ranchi’s Ashok Nagar. Sen’s ancestral house used to be in Tharpakna in Ranchi. He is an alumnus of Ranchi College from where he completed his graduation in science.

Retirement, however, did not affect his zeal to do something positive for wildlife and he worked as director of WWF, India’s wildlife division till October, 2006. Thereafter, he joined the Ranthambhore Foundation, a non-profit wildlife conservation organisation working for awareness, education, and biological diversity conservation with focus on tiger and publication of periodicals and journals related to conservation. Sen still works with the same organisation. On being selected for the prestigious award this year, Sen told The Telegraph over phone: “The award would give inspire other forest officials to work harder for efficient management of forest resources.”

Bihar chief wildlife warden Mithilesh Kumar, who worked as an IFoS probationer under Sen in Ranchi (West) forest division, termed him “a very dynamic officer”. “He always used to encourage his juniors and helped them do good work. He was always there to assist in case anyone faced any difficulty on the field,” Kumar said.

Sen has won several awards and certificates of merit, including the Lifetime Achievement Award for Wildlife Conservation-2002, by Sanctuary Asia in his illustrious career in the field of wildlife.

Sen and Mahasundari Devi, an expert in Madhubani paintings, were the only two persons from the state who figured in the list of Padma awardees released on the eve of Republic Day this year.