February 3, 2015: As part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) Supplemental Accident Insurance Scheme, ex-gratia support was provided to two families of a Forester and a Tracker who died on duty.
A cheque of Rs. 25000 was provided to the bereaved family of Bharat Chandra Das, a Forester, who was killed by a rhinoceros while on official duty in Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The cheque was handed over to his family by the Field Director, Kaziranga National Park, in presence of officials from the Assam Forest Department and the IFAW-WTI team led by Rathin Burman. The deceased is survived by a wife, two daughters and a son.
In another instance, ex-gratia support of Rs. 25000 was provided to the bereaved family of Vishwanath Singh, a Tracker, who was killed by poachers while he was on official duty under the Wildlife Division, Ranchi, Jharkhand. He is survived by two sons, a daughter and a wife, Bhajanti Devi. Singh’s wife received the cheque from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (WL) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Jharkhand. The ex-gratia support was handed over during the State Consultative meeting on elephant corridors of Jharkhand on 20th January 2015 at Ranchi in the presence of about 65 senior Forest Officials of Jharkhand.
Through the IFAW-WTI Supplemental Accident Insurance Scheme, which is part of WTI’s Van Rakshak Project, over 20,000 field staff across the country have been covered against death/permanent disability while on duty. The Van Rakshak Project has also trained over 14,000 forest staff in more than 138 Protected Areas in over 11 states of India.
