New Delhi: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), as a part of its Van Rakshak Project, provided a great morale booster to all field staff in protected areas, by providing them with an insurance cover.

The scheme was launched on March 30, 2001, and covers all 50,000-field staff in India’s protected areas. This landmark scheme brings all the field staff of the forest departments, working on wildlife duties in protected areas, under a single insurance scheme.

The scheme covers employees of the rank of range forest officer and below on field wildlife duties. Even temporary employees who have been on the rolls for at least three years and are on field wildlife duties are eligible.

The first cheque of Rs 100,000 was handed over on August 29 to a forest guard’s widow in Corbett National Park. Reva Devi received the cheque Mr. AS Negi, chief wildlife warden of Uttaranchal, Mr Anniruddha Mukherjee, Director, Wild Aid, WTI. The cheque was handed over at her residence at Pirumadara village adjacent to the park. (picture below)

Ram Singh was on a tiger census and was returning after a morning’s work with three of his colleagues on May 20. They had to cross a mountain stream called Ram Ganga near their range. It had been raining in the last few days. The river was swollen and flowing fast. While his colleagues crossed the river safely, Ram Singh slipped and was knocked unconscious against a rock. He

could not recover and his body was found floating down stream in the afternoon.

The second cheque of Rs 100,000 will be soon handed over to the father of forest guard Paramvir Khati. Mr. Pushpa Khati. Khati was trampled to death by a wild elephant on April 19 in Golaghat area of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal. He was riding his motorcycle, when the elephant attacked him. Khati was he was heading towards another part of the park, while on his beat duty.