KOLKATA: The Sunderbans Tiger Reserve has got a helping hand in its Covid fight from many NGOs, some from the state and some from outside.
While Mumbai-based Earth Brigade Foundation decided to reach out to the frontline wildlife protection staff of the forest departments across India, including the Sunderbans, with instruments like oxygen concentrators, city-based Society for Heritage and Ecological Researches (SHER) has also done its bit to stand by the department staff.
Earth Brigade Foundation has provided 25 oxygen concentrator machines, along with disposable nasal cannulas, across forest departments in India for use in case of an emergency until help reaches the patient or the patient reaches the nearest healthcare centre for treatment.
“We have provided the machines in seven states — seven in Karnataka, six in Uttarakhand, four in Rajasthan, three in Uttar Pradesh, two each in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh and one in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal,” said Sarita Subramaniam, director of Earth Brigade Foundation.
SHER provided four such oxygen concentrators to four ranges in the Sunderbans, including National Park East, Bidya, Sajnekhali and Basirhat. They were recently handed over to the forest department staff in the presence of senior officials like STR field director Tapas Das and deputy field director Justine Jones.
