Dr KK Sarma ,a Veterinarian ,popularly known as Elephant Man of Asia has been selected for the prestigious Padmashree award 2020
It is really a proud moment for the veterinary fraternity that a legend vet Dr KK Sarma sir has been selected for the prestigious Padmashree award 2020.
The Pashudhan Praharee congratulates the legend vet for his great acheivement.
Padma Shree
Padma Shree is the fourth most astounding non military personnel grant in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Granted by the Government of India, it is each year on India’s Republic Day. Padma Shri is very respected and esteemed honor in India. It is the third most elevated non military personnel grant given every year from Republic of India, as Bharat Ratna isn’t a yearly honor and granted seldom. Padma Shri is exceedingly respected and lofty honor in India.
Padma Awards were founded in 1954 to be granted to residents of India in acknowledgment of their recognized commitment in different circles of action including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs. It has likewise been granted to some recognized people who were not natives of India but rather contributed in different approaches to India. The choice criteria have been reprimanded in a few quarters with the claim that numerous very meriting specialists have been forgotten keeping in mind the end goal to support certain people.
India has now made an online assignment stage for the basic residents to suggest the designation for the every year given non military personnel “Padma” grants. On its front, the words “Padma”, which means lotus in Sanskrit, and “Shri”, a Sanskrit-inferred honorific identical to ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’, show up in Devanagari above and underneath a lotus bloom. The geometrical example on either side is in polished bronze. All decorating is in white gold.
Dr.Kushal Konwar Sarma—-
Dr. K.K. Sarma is a highly respected veterinarian and academic, but his interest in elephants began at age 7 when his grandmother adopted a pet elephant, Lakshmi, who lived in the family compound. Later, K.K. went on to pursue a degree in veterinary science, eventually becoming the head of the department of surgery and radiology at the College of Veterinary Science in Assam. Even though his work at the university keeps him busy, Dr. Sarma is never far from caring for elephants. His love of these animals and his adventurous spirit gives him the determination not just to treat captive elephants in forest department camps, but to help any elephant regardless of its location.
A typical day consists of driving long distances to give routine care such as vaccinations, vitamin shots, and foot care, but also includes prenatal care for expectant cows, and looking after newborn calves. It also means trekking through difficult terrain and relocating wild elephants, often bulls in the dangerous state of musth. Dr. Sarma was the first person in Assam to use tranquilizing darts to subdue musth elephants that otherwise would have been shot, thus saving not just the elephant’s life, but the lives of people in the surrounding villages.
Dr. Sarma has also been a key figure in the conservation of the Indian one-horned rhino. Wildlife poachers took advantage of political instability in Assam in the nineteen nineties to decimate the rhino population. Dr. K.K. is a leader in the movement to reestablish a rhino population in Manas National Park. Thanks to this initiative the population there is slowly recovering.
North East India has the last remaining viable wild Asian elephant population in the world. It also has the highest incidence of human-elephant conflict. Dr. K.K. is a major force in the fight to educate people about how to coexist with the elephants and to preserve this magnificent species.
Dr.K.K Sarma- The Elephant Saviour from Assam
Growing up in a rural ambiance, K.K Sarma would have never thought that elephants for whom he cared so much in his childhood would become his passion and profession. Dr. K.K. Sarma is now a highly respected veterinarian and academician. His interest in elephants began at age 7 when his grandmother adopted a pet elephant, Lakshmi, who incidentally lived in the family compound. His interest for animals made him process a career in animal care only and he later completed a degree in veterinary science and became the head of the department of surgery and radiology at the College of Veterinary Science in Assam. His love for elephants is unending and Dr. Sarma takes time out for caring for elephants by taking out some time from his busy schedule.
A typical workday in his life consists of driving long distances to give routine care such as vaccinations, vitamin shots, and foot care. His work also includes showering prenatal care for expectant cows and looking after newborn calves. He also treks through difficult terrain and relocates wild elephants. His contribution cannot be considered as non-worthy for the fact that he was the first person in Assam to use tranquillising darts to subdue musth elephants that otherwise would have been shot. He therefore not only saves the elephant’s life but the lives of people in the surrounding villages too. For his contribution in the field of elephant conservation, Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma from Barama, in Assam’s Kamrup district is considered to be ‘Elephant Doctor’ of India. He has been at work for the last 32 years and has not taken a single weekend off. He has treated more than 700 jumbos, both wild and rogue bulls, every year. Dr. K.K. Sarma does not rest a while and even at the age of 60, he is found to be actively working on the field every weekend. He travels extensively in East India to look after elephants in different forests and parks which come under the administrative authority of the different state government. He has also put his life at risk many times and usually has to get up-close to the rogue jumbo, and administers the shot from a distance so that the elephant is tranquillised. This technique has now become a game-changer in cases of human-animal conflict and is used on elephants as well as other predators like tigers, leopards, and rhinos.
It is not only elephants he works for but this hardworking Assamese doctor has also advocating the idea of turning barren and unused community lands to forests. Elephants venture into human settlements because the natural habitat of elephants, the forests have been taken away from them. As a part of his work he collaborates with the electricity board to avoid electrocution of elephants due to hanging power lines. Dr. K.K. Sarma also works with the Railway authorities to adopt measures to prevent train-hits. Once he came in close contact with an elephant and only escaped death by an inch. However, the animal lover he is, Dr Sarma never stops and thinks otherwise. In his thoughts, he thinks and maintains that climate change is also threatening the lives of the elephant. He points out that as elephants are primitive mammals they do not adapt to extreme heat and dry conditions. However, apart from these challenges, humans have emerged as biggest threat to elephants in the region as these are hunted for their tusk.
Dr. Sarma points out that he has faced a close shave with death almost 20 times but this does not seem to scare him and Dr. Sarma has continued working with elephants relentlessly. He points out that it is easy for him to continue caring for elephants as he does not consider this as work but fun. He says that he is the happiest when he is near elephants. City life does not make him happy. Even at this moment, if someone tells him that an elephant is trapped or is in need of help, he will pack his bags and drive to that location.
In his message to an animal lover, the doctor points out that people often ask him as to why the elephants should be preserved as they do not plow their fields or give them milk. But the Dr. believes that elephants are our heritage. They are a special species which is instrumental in seed dispersal and guarding our forests. They also show us a solution to cancer due to the presence of p 53 genes that prevent the occurrence of cancer in them. Without elephants, the existence of forests would be at risk and we would not be able to survive. India is fortunate to have elephants and Dr K.K. Sarma is one of the person responsible for making this species live and prosper peacefully in our North Eastern part of the Country.
Contact details of Dr K K Sarma —
kushalkonwar@gmail.com or call him at 9706178268.
