Dia Mirza pledges financial aid of Rs. 40 lakh to families of forest warriors

Dia Mirza who will celebrate her birthday on December 9 has decided to dedicate the special day to the frontline forest warriors who died due to the Covid pandemicThe actress has pledged financial aid of Rs 40 lakh to the families of forest warriors who lost their lives during the ongoing pandemicIn an appeal posted on fundraising platform Milaap and on her social media handles Dia said On my birthday this year I would like to take the opportunity to request all those who may want to send me flowers or gifts to instead make a donation to WTI to help our VanRakshaks forest warriorsOn my birthday this year donrsquot send me flowers or gifts Instead help me honour guardians of WildIndia wti_org_indiarsquos CovidCasualtyFund The proceeds are delivered to the families ConservationHeroes along with a scroll of honour httpstco98LGFdLYtp pictwittercomr9L2c2UeAjmdash Dia Mirza deespeak December 1 2021She continued There could be no better birthday gift Your gift will help support the bereaved families of Indias Guardians of the Wild who lost their lives to Covid19 while protecting our natural heritageElaborating her plan the actress said Beginning with my 40th birthday on 9 December for the next 40 days I will donate a lakh each day and hope that you all will contribute alongside me to the best of your abilitiesmatch or better that amount as we seek to maximise our collective impactShedding light on the challenging lives of forest warriors and their nature of work Dia said Our guardians of the wild our van rakshaks risk their lives in service to nature They often fall to accidents in the toughest of terrain inclement weather attacks by wild animals or poachers When the second wave of Covid19 tore through the country leading to nationwide lockdowns these men and women were out patrolling our countrys forests on foot sicShe further added Between March and June 2021 when most of us stayed at home India lost more than 500 of these conservation heroes to Covid19 Most of them were young between 30 and 50 years of age and had committed their lifetime to preserving Indias wildlife The sudden demise of so many young committed people is not only heartwrenching but a blow to nature conservation The least we can do now is to recognise their service and stand in support of the young families they leave behind who have suffered the biggest blowWildlife Trust of Indias WTI Conservation Heroes Covid Casualty Fund provides an exgratia of Rs 100000 and a scroll of honour to the next of kin of the fallen heroes WTI received exgratia claims for over 200 pandemic casualties from the wildlife sector across IndiaOf these 135 requests have already been processed by WTI However there are 65 requests that are still pending Dia who is also the ambassador of WTI concluded I appeal to you to join me and donate for the cause Our target is to raise the remaining amount to cover all 65 families and your contribution can bring us closer to our goalAlso Read A film like Lage Raho Munna Bhai always remains relevant because of its themeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever