The state forest department has initiated the process of providing jobs to a family member each of those who have lost their lives in wild animal attacks.

On January 16, Lalo Munda, the wife of Ranjeet Oraon, a tea worker in Alipurduar district, was handed over a job letter by Parveen Kaswan, the deputy field director (west) of Buxa Tiger Reserve.

Lalo will serve as a forest volunteer in the department and get Rs 12,000 a month.

“This is the first time that we have provided a job to the wife of a person who had died in an elephant attack. We have received approval for four others and are verifying their documents. Some more proposals from north Bengal have been sent to our superiors for approval,” said Bhaskar J.V., the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north).

Sources said that Ranjeet, a worker at the Chinchula tea estate in Kalchini block of the district, died when an elephant strayed into the garden and trampled on him. The incident happened in June last year.

After his death, Lalo, his wife, was finding it tough to run the household.

The young woman also has a five-month-old son.

"The deceased tea worker's wife had been provided compensation earlier. Now, under the West Bengal Scheme for Rehabilitation by providing Employment Assistance, 2023, she has also been provided with a job. According to the scheme, one member of such families who have lost their near and dear ones in wild animal attacks, are eligible for a job,” said a forester.

“My husband was a tea worker. However, I was a homemaker. I am thankful for this job which will largely help me to run my family and raise my son,” said Lalo.

Some other bereaved family members, sources said, would also be engaged as volunteers. “They will be assigned jobs depending upon their educational qualification,” said a source.

Trinamul leaders of the district, commenting on the job scheme, said this would help them to garner support in Alipurduar, which has a BJP MP, John Barla, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

“This job scheme again proves the humanitarian approach of our chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Her government has always stood beside people during distress. Earlier, such bereaved families only used to get cash compensation, but now they are being given jobs. We will surely highlight it during our election campaign,” said a Trinamul leader.