Youth nurtures father''s killer

Kendrapara (Orissa), Feb 6 (PTI) This is all for thesake of earning bread and butter.

A 22-year-old man is now the saviour of his father''skiller. For it, he is being paid Rs 90 per day as salary.

The killer is a crocodile kept in an enclosure ofBhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Orissa while the victimMadusudan Behera was an ad-hoc employee of forest department.

Manoranjan, son of the slain employee is now oncontractual payroll of the department and taking care andnurturing the captive crocodiles including his father�skiller.

"My father used to feed the captive animals. After oneof them killed him on April 24, 2000, forest department askedme to do what my father was doing. Since then, I have beendoing the same. I was only 16 years then," Manoranjan said.

"I was left with little option but accept it. Ivividly remember the day when a male crocodile killed myfather when he was feeding it with crab and fish," he said.

"He was also a contractual employee. The departmentpaid our family Rs 10,000 ex-gratia to compensate," he said.

Risk is involved in the job as collecting fish andcrab from crocodile-infected water-bodies is hazardous. Thenfeeding the captive crocodiles is also equally risky. Inreturn, he is paid Rs 90 a day.

"The forest department is gracious enough to erect myfather''s memorial," he said.

"His appointment was on daily wages done oncompassionate grounds," Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, DivisionalForest Officer, Rajngar Mangrove (wildlife) forest division,said.