Students of The BSS School in Ballygunge perform at a programme in the school auditorium to mark the upcoming Global Tiger Day on Friday.
The “unsung heroes” of tiger terrain were the stars of the programme to celebrate the tiger on Tuesday. Sixty forest guards from different ranges of the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve and the South 24-Parganas forest division were awarded at the school.
The guards are tasked with a range of duties, besides battling hostile terrain and turbulent rivers round the year. From daily maintenance of the nylon net fencing — spanning over 100km — to barricade the forests to curbing poaching, the guards have to do everything.
“Tiger is a metaphor for nature. So, the conservation of tigers means conservation of nature,” said Joydip Kundu of SHER (Society for Heritage and Ecological Researches), the NGO that organised the programme with the school.