Bhubaneswar: Three forest department personnel of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj will be honoured for their act of bravery. While two of them will be honoured posthumously, another will be conferred with the bravery award.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Union government has announced the award, sources said. Two forest staff Mathi Hansda and Bimal Kumar Jena had been shot dead by poachers in Similipal sanctuary, while Himansu Sekhar Sethi had sustained injuries in attack by wildlife criminals.
A special event will be organised at Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand on the occasion of International Tiger Day on July 29 to felicitate the forest employees as a tribute to the sacrifice made by them. The move is aimed at providing inspiration and motivation to other forest employees and officials.
It may be noted here that Mathi Hansda and Himansu Sethi were engaged in patrolling duty along with other forest department personnel in Similipal when six poachers attacked them. While Hansda was shot dead, Sethi fought with the poachers and got injured. He was instrumental in getting the accused arrested.
Similarly, Bimal Kumar Jena was shot dead by poachers during patrolling inside the sanctuary in May, this year.
