TIRUPUR: At a time when people hesitate to donate money towards the forward messages that do rounds on WhatsApp, the forest staff and officials of the Udumalai Division have managed to collect Rs 6 lakh for the kin of a forest guard, who recently drowned while on-duty.
Speaking to TNIE, the Forest Ranger P Dhanapal said that the deceased guard, Chandru (26), was part of a team assigned to remove the elephant's carcass from the PAP Canal on May 9. Two guards and an earthmover were assigned for the task. While the earthmover caught the carcass, the two guards were caught in the swift current. Though one guard was pulled out, Chandru drowned in the underground water passage, forest ranger added and stated that he had only joined duty five months ago.
"After his body was recovered on the next day, many forest personnel decided to offer his parents with compensation and got his mother's - Saranya - bank details. As the money started to pour into her account from the officials, we posted a message in the State-level WhatsApp group of the forest department. On Chandru's birthday - May 21 - we received around Rs 4.7 lakh. Currently, his mother has got more than Rs 6 lakh and the amount is still growing," Dhanapal added.
Forest officials and personnel have made small contributions ranging from Rs 5,000 – Rs 50,000. He stated that once the formalities are over, the government's compensation will be sanctioned.