A woman made for the jungle

Jalpaiguri, Oct. 3: She gave her job as a nurse at a private nursing home to join the state forest department as a forest guard. Inspired by the jungle and her craving for adventure, Minati Roy landed in the Gorumara National Park as a forest guard.

Officials confirm that she is the only woman forest guard of the department in the entire North Bengal area.

`Even as a child, I was interested in the forest. I wanted to be inside its heart and check out the flora and fauna. And when I came to know that the department was looking for guards, I pounced on the opportunity and appeared for the examination`, Minati said, smiling.

She scored over two women in the physical tests and was the only woman candidate among the fifteen forest guards who were recruited.

Incidentally, on the day she joined at the Murti beat under Gorumara National Park area, she took part in a raid and arrested three timber smugglers. She has also received training in arms and is very comfortable working with her male colleagues.
Apart from her routine work in the department, Minati leads a group of 10 women from different forest protection committees to nab women timber-smugglers.

Minati’s success has encouraged the forest department to recruit more women as guards. She is another feather in the cap for the brave women of North Bengal.

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