Family members and colleagues of the Bannerghatta Biological Park employee, who was mauled to death by two white tigers on October 7, staged a protest outside the facility in Karnataka on Sunday. The protestors demanded more compensation for 40-year-old Anjaneya’s family and permanent employment for his son after the zoo’s administration announced a Rs 10-lakh compensation.
“We have agreed to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation, half of it from the Zoo Authority of Karnataka and the other half from the state government,” said Santosh Kumar, Executive Director of the facility. “But, rules do not permit hiring on permanent basis.”
Ajaneya was hired as a cleaner on October 1 and was filling in for a colleague who did not report for work on October 7, The Hindu quoted his colleagues as saying. The two tigers attacked him when he entered the cage to remove the remnants of food on Saturday evening, The Times of India reported. He had not realised the tigers were inside the cage at the time.
Wildlife authorities have ordered the zoo to strictly follow safety measures. “There have been lapses,” The Hindu quoted Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Punati Shridhar as saying. “CCTV cameras are being installed in the area. We have told the zoo authorities that for any incident like this, accountability will be fixed from the level of the director to even the worker.”
In May, two Central Reserve Police Force men were trampled to death by a wild elephant in at a training camp next to the Bannerghatta Park.
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