Forest Department acted swiftly in providing government job to Sandeep Sonkamble, husband of Swati Dhumane, forest guard, who was killed in attack by tigress in Kolara core zone on Saturday.
The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) Tiger Conservation Foundation issued orders about service to Sonkamble, who joined in the office on Monday in presence of Nandkishore Kale, Deputy Director, TATR, Core, Chandrapur I
Uddhay Thackeray, the Chief Minister, while condoling the death of Swati, announced on Sunday that the government would give Rs 15 lakh help to her family members and government job to her husband.
Similarly, The foundation has provided Rs 5 lakh in the form of cheque and Rs 50,000 in cash. It will calculate all other due benefits in two days and give expeditiously to the bereaved family members, said Sunil Limaye, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife).
It may be mentioned here that Swati was working along with three forest labourers in compartment no: 97 in Kolara core zone of TATR at the transect line for tiger estimation on Saturday. They noticed that Maya tigress was sitting on the internal road around 200 metres away.
Even after waiting for half-an-hour the tigress did not leave the place Swati tried to take a detour through thick patch of forest The tigress noticing movement in the forest followed Swati and labourersand attacked her, who was moving just behind the labourers. The big cat dragged her in jungle and killed on the spot.
This is probably for the first time such incident of tigress killing an employee during transect line work
Meanwhile, a deputation of Maharashtra State Forest Guards & Promoted Foresters Union led by Ajay Patil, President, met G Saiprakash, PCCF and Head of Forest Force, here on Monday and submitted a memorandum pressing the demands for giving her status of forest martyr, suspending work of transect line or providing five labourers with one forest guard, service to her father, providing a financial help of Rs one crore to her family on the lines of Madhya Pradesh, organising meetings with unions to take precautions, constructing memorial of Swati at Kolara gate, providing kits for security etc.
