GUWAHATI: Forest field staff of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS), a renowned habitat of one-horned rhinoceros about 45 kilometers away from here, were provided with windcheaters and facilitated with a free diabetes and eye screening camp on the occasion of World Rhino Day.
About 70 forest staffs underwent free diabetes and eye screening in the health camp organised by Range office of Pabitora WLS in association with Aaranyak and Lions Club of Gauhati. About 17 staffs were detected to be with moderate to high sugar content in their blood while only one forest personnel was found to be suffering from eye cataract as per today’s quick assessment.
Further, on the occasion of the World Rhino Day, Aaranyak provided 149 wind cheaters to all frontline forest staffs of Pabitora WLS in presence of Range officer of Pabitora WLS Mukul Tamuli. Aaranyak team was led by Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar Secretary General and accompanied by Manas Kumar Bhattacharjya, Kaushik Bora, Gouranga Mondol and Nirmal Kalita.
Dr Talukdar said forest field staffs were the backbone rhino conservation efforts and it was the responsibility of all stakeholders to take care of their well-being and health. “Our humble gesture of providing wind cheaters to the forest staffs in Pobitora WL sanctuary is expected carry the message that we care for them. They are engaged in a tough task of protecting a treasure trove of one-horned rhinos in the sanctuary,” the Aaranyak CEO said.
The Lions club of Gauhati was represented by its President Sunil Agarwala who said that international body of Lions Club had decided to focus on environment conservation sector besides its other philanthropic activities. He pledged to carry out more such health camps for forest guards in various protection areas in Assam.