Guest worker attacked by sloth bear near Valparai

Coimbatore: A guest worker, who was working in a tea estate near Valparai, was attacked by a sloth bear on Sunday. He suffered injuries on his left hand and leg and was admitted to the Valparai govt hospital for treatment.
The injured has been identified as Amar Oran, 25, from Jharkhand. Amar has been working as a temporary employee at a tea estate in Sirukundra.He was plucking tea leaves at the estate when he suddenly had a close encounter with a sloth bear which attacked him. He raised an alarm and fellow workers rushed to his rescue; while the bear ran away. Amar was rushed to the Valparai government hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, the forest department has instructed the estate management to issue alerts to all workers about the presence of the sloth bear in the estate. Workers have also been advised not to enter certain areas of the estate until the sloth bears move into the reserve forest.
Valparai forest range officer G Venkatesh said around 10 anti-poaching watchers have been deployed at the estate to monitor the bear's movement. Forest department staff also visited the injured worker at the Valparai hospital and handed over an immediate financial relief of 5,000.