Two weeks after the death of forest watcher C. Santhru, who was washed away on May 9 at Udumalpet in Tiruppur district while retrieving the carcass of an elephant in Contour Canal, Forest Department officials are continuing to pool in money from across the State for the family members.
Forest officials visited Santhru’s residence in Keeramangalam in Alangudi, Pudukkottai district on May 21, which would have been his 26th birthday and donated ₹4.31 lakh to his family members.
“We are collecting some more money and will hand it over next week,” said C. Dhanabalan, Udumalpet Forest Range Officer.
The collection from hundreds of officials and personnel from across the State is coordinated through a WhatsApp group.
All the money will be donated to the bank account of a coordinator, who will transfer the money to the account of Santhru’s mother, he explained.
Santhru was part of a 15-member team from Udumalpet Forest Range who were sent to rescue a seven-year-old male elephant that accidentally fell into the Contour Canal near Pollachi in Coimbatore district on May 9. During the operation, he jumped into the canal in hopes of rescuing the elephant alive and was washed away. His body was rescued the next day and was handed over to the family members in his home town.
Compensation
The Forest Department will provide a compensation of ₹10 lakh to those personnel who died on duty, which will be provided to Santhru’s kin after the completion of certain legal procedures, according to Mr. Dhanabalan.
The forest watcher is survived by his parents and an elder brother.
