^{Rumiz Minj receives an ex-gratia cheque of Rs 50,000 from the Bansbari Range Forest Officer and IFAW-WTI’s Greater Manas Conservation Project team}

Manas National Park, April 15, 2017: A family from Palchiguri village on the fringes of Manas National Park yesterday received an amount of Rs 50,000 from IFAW-WTI’s Greater Manas Conservation Project, as ex-gratia support for an incident of Human Elephant Conflict.

At 11.20pm on April 5 an adult male elephant entered Palchiguri village, which is located approximately 3.5km from the edge of the Bansbari Forest Range. The family’s house was destroyed and 10-year-old Binita Minj tragically lost her life in the incident, while her sister 8-year-old Jinita Minj suffered a broken leg and was subsequently hospitalised.

The family had six members; Rumiz Minj, the girls’ father, is a daily wage labourer. He was presented with the ex-gratia cheque at the Bansbari Range Office by the Range Forest Officer and WTI’s Samrat Sengupta and Sanatan Deka.