Panbari (Assam), September 28, 2010: A day-long free health camp was organised for the residents of Siljuri and Methoni  villages at Panbari near Kaziranga National Park by International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) and Assam Forest Department, in collaboration with the Vivekananda Kendra NRL Hospital, yesterday.

A team of five doctors and nurses from the hospital offered free medical services including health check-ups and distributions of medicines at the camp. More than 290 individuals from Silijuri and Methoni villages benefited from the initiative.

“A majority of the participants in the health camp came to us with eye related ailments like poor eyesight, conjunctivitis and other infections,” said Dr Karabi Saikia of the Vivekananda Kendra NRL Hospital. “This could be because a lot of the locals work in stone crushing units in this area. They have all been given the required medication.”

Dibyadhar Gogoi, DFO Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, Bokakhat, who was present at the health camp, emphasised on the need to provide health services for the poor of the area living below the poverty line. Stressing on the need of such health camps being conducted regularly, he expressed gratitude to IFAW-WTI for its patronage of the Health Camp and Vivekananda Kendra NRL Hospital for stepping forward to offer free services to the people of Kaziranga.

WTI, supported by IFAW, is currently assisting the Assam Forest Department to secure the Panbari corridor that links Kaziranga National Park to Karbi Anglong hills. “Wildlife corridors are among the most viable solutions to establish contiguity of wildlife habitat, which in India, has seen so much fragmentation over the past few decades.” says Sandeep Kumar Tiwari, Head od Wild Lands division at WTI. “We are grateful to the people of Panbari for understanding the significance of this corridor and contributing towards its conservation, and hope that this health camp – a token of our appreciation for their support – was beneficial to them.”