Nagpur: The death of a forest employee in a sloth bear attack in the Melghat Tiger Reserve’s (MTR) buffer on Monday has prompted officials to propose sufficient staff and equip them with noise-making pistols, batons and ‘ghungru lathis’ (sticks with a string of small bells) to protect themselves while on duty.
Rasul More, 59, was a permanent ‘van majoor’.He died while performing forest duty. Hence, his family will get all the benefits of a forest employee. He was to retire eight months later. More will be declared ‘Van Shahid’ (Forest Martyr).
Melghat divisional forest officer (DFO) Yashwant Bahale said, “As per GR, the victim’s kin will get Rs 25 lakh. The MTR Tiger Conservation Foundation (TCF) has also insured all the staff of the reserve which enables each victim’s family a Rs 5 lakh benefit.” Apart from retirement benefits, relatives of More will get Rs 10 lakh under the defined contributory pension scheme and gratuity.
This is the second such incident in last two years. On November 20, 2021, a woman forest guard, Swati Dhumane, was attacked by a tigress during the line transact estimation inside the Tadoba National Park. Dhumane was accompanied by three forest workers. Taking a cue from the Dhumane case, Melghat in January 2022, introduced stun batons and noise-making guns.
Bahale said that sloth bears are normally shy animals and do not see humans as prey, but they have a natural aggressive response to surprise or sudden encounters with humans. “At the time of attack, the animal must have been with cubs,” he said.
Meanwhile, to avoid a repeat of such cases, Melghat chief conservator of forests (CCF) and field director Jayoti Banerjee has asked officials to post sufficient staff and equip them with and noise-making pistols, stun batons, ‘ghungru lathis’ (sticks with a string of small bells) while they are on transect lines.
“Wildlife and habitat are very precious, but so are the lives guarding them. The forest staff at times may need protection from the wild animals they are protecting. Such gear will boost the morale of the field staff,” said Sawan Deshmukh, honorary wildlife warden, Amravati.
Rasul More, 59, was a permanent ‘van majoor’.He died while performing forest duty. Hence, his family will get all the benefits of a forest employee. He was to retire eight months later. More will be declared ‘Van Shahid’ (Forest Martyr).
Melghat divisional forest officer (DFO) Yashwant Bahale said, “As per GR, the victim’s kin will get Rs 25 lakh. The MTR Tiger Conservation Foundation (TCF) has also insured all the staff of the reserve which enables each victim’s family a Rs 5 lakh benefit.” Apart from retirement benefits, relatives of More will get Rs 10 lakh under the defined contributory pension scheme and gratuity.
This is the second such incident in last two years. On November 20, 2021, a woman forest guard, Swati Dhumane, was attacked by a tigress during the line transact estimation inside the Tadoba National Park. Dhumane was accompanied by three forest workers. Taking a cue from the Dhumane case, Melghat in January 2022, introduced stun batons and noise-making guns.
Bahale said that sloth bears are normally shy animals and do not see humans as prey, but they have a natural aggressive response to surprise or sudden encounters with humans. “At the time of attack, the animal must have been with cubs,” he said.
Meanwhile, to avoid a repeat of such cases, Melghat chief conservator of forests (CCF) and field director Jayoti Banerjee has asked officials to post sufficient staff and equip them with and noise-making pistols, stun batons, ‘ghungru lathis’ (sticks with a string of small bells) while they are on transect lines.
“Wildlife and habitat are very precious, but so are the lives guarding them. The forest staff at times may need protection from the wild animals they are protecting. Such gear will boost the morale of the field staff,” said Sawan Deshmukh, honorary wildlife warden, Amravati.
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