Covid-19 Insurance To Green Soldiers - PTR

 Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Arunachal Pradesh has become the first in the eight-State northeast to provide insurance cover against Covid-19 for “green soldiers”. Eight-State northeast includes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

Highlights:

♦ 57 frontline staff (referred to as green soldiers) of the Park have been insured for nine months against health issues due to the infection by the Covid-19.

♦ The forest guards are rightly the green soldiers in the frontline of India’s wildlife, and the onus of wildlife conservation pretty much falls on them.

♦ The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), an NGO, paid the insurance amount with support from Foundation Serge.

♦ The NGO has been supporting India’s frontline forest staff with accident cover for the last 20 years.

♦ The insurance coverage is of Rs. 1 lakh each but a few who would be retiring soon has been insured for Rs. 50,000.

Pakke Tiger Reserve:

PTR (declared in 1999-2000) lies in the foothills of the eastern Himalaya in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and is also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve. It comes inside the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot. It is home for more than 2000 types of plants, 300 types of flying creatures, 40 types of vertebrates, and so forth Numerous types of the verdure are all around the world undermined, and PTR is one of the final fortifications left for these species. It is known for its amazing sightings of four resident hornbill species.  The state bird of Arunachal Pradesh is great hornbill and it is 'vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red List. Other Protected Areas in Arunachal Pradesh: Talle Wildlife Sanctuary, Dihang Dibang Biosphere Reserve, Eagle Nest Wildlife Sanctuary, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Mouling National Park, Sessa Orchid Sanctuary.