Kota: Women are now making their presence felt in all fields, including those that were predominately known as male-dominated. On the International Women's Day, it's an opportunity to appreciate their contributions.
Prem Kanwar Shaktawat is a one such example of travelling on paths commonly not treaded by women. She is working in the forest department for the last 13 years. Apart from patrolling the dense forests of Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve, she knows everything about rescue to monitoring of ferocious wild animals. She has recued more than 400 wild animals and reptiles till now.
As a mark of recognition for her work, Prem Kanwar has been awarded the 'Van Durga' award. She is the first woman from Rajasthan to bag this award.
"Women are not behind in any field. I consider women to be very powerful and feel that men may fall behind, but we never lag behind. I have taken control of large crocodiles measuring 15 feet each and ferocious panthers. Be it wildlife rescue or patrolling, I am not afraid of anything. Saving the forests and our wildlife is my biggest duty and I am earning salary for this work," she said.
Prem Kanwar is posted as Assistant Forester at Girdharpura Naka in Range Kolipura in Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve. She joined the post of forest guard in 2011. After which, she was promoted to Assistant Forester in 2020.
Hailing from Jamuniya Raoji village near Singoli in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district, she was initially posted in the Bhainsrodgarh Sanctuary and then transferred to Abheda Biological Park. So far, she has managed to rescue 400 animals including panther, crocodile, deer, sheetal and sambar. This apart, she has also been involved in the rescue operations of venomous snakes and pythons.
"Awareness camps have also been organised in schools and rural areas so as to inform people about the importance of wildlife conservation and protection", she said.
Prem Kanwar was awarded the 'Wildlife Friend Award' by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2020. She had done a seven-year research on the behaviour of otters and also studied footprints of birds and wild animals. Her report on the footprints of birds and wild animals was prepared during her posting in Bhainsrodgarh Sanctuary and she was given the Wildlife Friend Award at that time. Also she got an honorarium of Rs 2 lakh under a programme she participated during Covid-19 pandemic.
She is the first woman of Rajasthan to receive the 'Van Durga' Award. The award was handed over to her by Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar at a programme organised in Guwahati by the Asian Ranger Forum on wildlife conservation, monitoring and rescue. It was the first such conference that was organised in India. The award was given to her on the recommendation of Deepali Atul, CEO of Exploring Women Foundation. Deepali Atul supports women rangers.
In view of her achivements, Prem Kanwar was invited at the World Ranger Conference in Nepal, which was organised for the first time in Asia. "I was invited to speak about my work experience that I have gained since 2011. I shared my work experience with the world's 500 rangers who attended the conference. We also discussed about the challenges faced by women on duty in the forest area," she said.
She said that she has recently been invited at the 27th working meeting and conference on crocodiles scheduled from April 15 to 19 in Australia's Darwin. The world's biggest scientific rangers have been invited there, she said adding that she will be applying for a visa and will go there after getting permission from the state government.
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