Kokrajhar vet receives int'l award for animal welfare

Guwahati: Kokrajhar’s veterinarian Panjit Basumatary’s contribution towards wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, has brought him international acclamation as he was recently honoured with the prestigious International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) award in London. Basumatary has treated over 3,000 wild animals over the last 14 years.

He was selected for the award from a pool of 650 nominees from 29 countries across the globe and was honoured with the award at the 24th Animal Action Awards in London on Oct 17. The award celebrates the unsung heroes working for animal welfare.

Basumatary has been empathetic towards animals since his childhood. His first assignment as a young veterinary graduate was to treat a golden langur attacked by some stray dogs in 2008. He treated the langur and sent it back to the wild. This left a deep impression in him. Since then, he has continued to offer service to wild animals.

In a remarkable achievement in wildlife conservation, Basumatary and his team removed two large tumours from an adult tigress’ neck at Itanagar biological park. They received accolades from Arunachal CM Pema Khandu for their contribution.

In 2009, Panjit joined the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and started rendering service as a vet at the black bear cub rehabilitation centre at Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal.

In his 14-year career, he has attended over 3,000 animals of over 250 species, including mammals, reptiles and birds. At CWRC Kaziranga, he and his team hand-raised 26 orphaned one-horned rhinos and rehabilitated many back to the wild.

He later joined the IFAW-WTI team initiated rehabilitation centre for clouded leopard cubs at Manas Tiger Reserve. Basumatary currently heads the centre for bear rehabilitation and conservation at Pakke Tiger Reserve.

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